Pillars 2022
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA<br />
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND<br />
PROFESSIONAL STUDIES<br />
VOLUME 14<br />
FALL <strong>2022</strong>
PILLARS<br />
VOLUME 14 | FALL <strong>2022</strong><br />
A publication of the University of South Alabama<br />
College of Education and Professional Studies<br />
Dr. John Kovaleski, Interim Dean<br />
Amber Day, Associate Director of Marketing<br />
and Communications<br />
Kim Lovvorn, Assistant Director of Creative Services<br />
Mike Kittrell, Elizabeth Gelineau, James Palomo-Saylor,<br />
FJ Gaylor, Photography<br />
Thomas Becnel, Zoe Blair, Lance Crawford, Hadyn Henderson,<br />
Ensley Lawrence, Joy Washington, Contributing Writers<br />
The mission of the University of South Alabama College of Education<br />
and Professional Studies is to transform our community and expand<br />
our outreach through a commitment to excellence in education and<br />
human services, advancement of innovative research, and supporting<br />
the dedicated service of our faculty, staf, students and alumni.
Message from the Interim Dean<br />
3 Celebrating Milestones and<br />
Achievements<br />
IN THIS ISSUE<br />
By the Numbers<br />
5 Fast Facts, Student Organizations,<br />
Enrollment, Outreach, Accreditations<br />
and Publications<br />
Students<br />
7 Awards<br />
11 Zimlich Quintuplets Graduate<br />
Community Engagement<br />
13 Contracts and Grants<br />
16 Educator Excellence Scholarship<br />
17 Faculty Outreach<br />
21 Student Field Placements<br />
23 SARIC<br />
24 AMSTI-USA<br />
25 Alabama Technology in Motion<br />
27 USA Literacy Center<br />
29 PASSAGE USA<br />
Academics<br />
31 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion<br />
32 ‘ Sincerely, South’ Podcast<br />
33 Dr. Andi Kent Feature (on the cover)<br />
37 Counseling and Instructional Sciences<br />
41 Health, Kinesiology, and Sport<br />
43 Hospitality and Tourism Management<br />
45 Integrative Studies<br />
47 Leadership and Teacher Education<br />
51 Ofce of Field Services<br />
52 Ofce of Adult Learner Services<br />
55 Faculty and Staf<br />
Development<br />
57 Advisory Council<br />
60Invest in the College<br />
61 Scholarships<br />
65 Extra Yard for Teachers<br />
66 USA National Alumni Association<br />
11 Five for Five: Zimlich Quintuplets<br />
Graduate Together<br />
20 South Leads Initiative to Curb<br />
Youth Violence<br />
21 Field Ready: Five Students Share<br />
Internship Experiences<br />
43 SGA President Dreams of Working<br />
in Athletics Management<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA 2
MESSAGE FROM THE INTERIM DEAN<br />
On behalf of the University of South<br />
Alabama College of Education and<br />
Professional Studies, I am honored to<br />
present the <strong>2022</strong> edition of <strong>Pillars</strong>,<br />
our publication about the people<br />
and the many activities and events<br />
happening in the college. As we<br />
transitioned into the new academic<br />
year with fall classes, we welcomed<br />
new and returning students on August 16.<br />
Whether attending classes on campus or<br />
online, performing internships in the community, or employing a<br />
combination of instructional modalities, students will experience the<br />
same rigor, relevance and excellence, all delivered with our supportive,<br />
welcoming South Alabama culture.<br />
Our faculty demonstrate their dedication to their students’ futures and<br />
to their own professional development and advancement by making<br />
knowledge matter and engaging in unfettered inquiry. Whether it is<br />
a classroom setting, service learning opportunity, clinical practice or<br />
feld-based experience, each allows for a high level of interaction with<br />
their students. Coupled with that, our professional and administrative<br />
staf are committed to helping students transition to the higher<br />
education environment and provide support services to help students<br />
stay connected. Preparing educators and human service professionals<br />
is a collective endeavor so that our students achieve their aspirations<br />
to make a diference and become successful. We strive to empower<br />
our graduates to have fulflling careers and to lead meaningful<br />
lives. With that focus, we want the educational experiences we<br />
provide — both in and out of the classrooms — to change the lives of<br />
our graduates. As we embark on this exciting academic year, I very<br />
much look forward to capitalizing on our collective strengths and<br />
advancing the college’s mission to collaborate with, and learn from,<br />
the communities we support.<br />
Throughout this edition, you will fnd success stories that illustrate<br />
our impact — the ways in which a South Alabama education<br />
continues to guide our graduates to support communities, to enrich<br />
the lives of other people by creating connections and to facilitate<br />
similar transformation in the next generation of graduates.<br />
Dr. Andrea Kent — on the cover of this edition — earned her master’s<br />
and doctoral degrees from the College of Education and Professional<br />
Studies (p. 33). As a graduate of South and through her experiences<br />
as an elementary school teacher, a university professor, a college dean,<br />
and now the University’s provost and executive vice president, Kent<br />
has displayed a passion for instilling an expectation of excellence in<br />
learning, enhancing student and faculty scholarly interactions, and<br />
helping build communities that she leads.<br />
There are also stories like that of Martha Peek, a <strong>2022</strong> University of<br />
South Alabama Distinguished Alumni Award recipient who earned<br />
a master's in education from South in 1978 (p. 57). She began her<br />
46-year career in education as a teacher at Alba School in Bayou La<br />
Batre, Alabama, and served as principal, assistant superintendent and<br />
deputy superintendent before being named superintendent of Mobile<br />
County Public Schools in 2012. Peek became the frst female to hold<br />
this position in the school system’s 180-year history.<br />
There are many individuals working in the college also highlighted<br />
in this issue, including Dr. Joshua Keller, an assistant professor of<br />
exercise science in the Department of Health, Kinesiology and Sport<br />
(p. 42), and Timothy Johnson, an Alabama Technology in Motion<br />
specialist (p. 26). Keller, who has more than 50 accepted scientifc<br />
articles in refereed journals, understands the process of efectively<br />
disseminating and communicating fndings derived from his original<br />
investigations, which include the study of peripheral vascular<br />
function and physiological correlates of healthy aging. Johnson,<br />
through the South Alabama Research and Inservice Center in the<br />
College of Education and Professional Studies, provides professional<br />
development training and modeling for K-12 teachers on integrating<br />
digital literacy and computer science into the curriculum to better<br />
facilitate learning.<br />
Some stories involve more than a single person — like the many<br />
centers, laboratories and feld experiences provided across the fve<br />
departments in the college. Not only do these initiatives positively<br />
impact hundreds of students, but they also impact the communities in<br />
which they serve.<br />
Lastly, I would like to highlight another inspirational individual<br />
featured in this year’s magazine — Dr. Thomas L. Chilton, who served<br />
as faculty member and administrator in the college for nearly 50<br />
years (p. 61). In such roles as department chair, associate dean and<br />
interim dean, Chilton was called upon repeatedly to provide direction<br />
for a young college that matured under his committed leadership. He<br />
passed away on February 14, <strong>2022</strong>. Throughout his career, Chilton<br />
positively impacted the lives of countless students and faculty through<br />
his knowledge, expertise, mentorship and leadership. His unwavering<br />
commitment to the College of Education and Professional Studies and<br />
the University is unprecedented, and his legacy will continue for many<br />
years to come.<br />
I hope articles like these, and many others in this edition, make you<br />
proud. As faculty, staf, students, alumni or friends of the College of<br />
Education and Professional Studies, we all play a role in strengthening<br />
and advancing the work that leads to meaningful lives. Together<br />
and as individuals, we are enriching the lives of the people we serve<br />
and support.<br />
Sincerely,<br />
@usaceps<br />
@usaceps<br />
@usaceps<br />
John E. Kovaleski, Ph.D.<br />
Interim Dean, College of Education<br />
and Professional Studies<br />
3<br />
PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
Dr. John Kovaleski, interim dean of the<br />
College of Education and Professional Studies,<br />
meets with Dr. Josh Keller, assistant professor<br />
of exercise science in the Department of<br />
Health, Kinesiology, and Sport<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA 4
BY THE NUMBERS<br />
“I chose South because I knew that I<br />
wouldn’t be just a number. Thank you<br />
for sharing the research, the science<br />
and the data to help me teach more<br />
efectively in the classroom.”<br />
Courteney Thompson, a South alumna and kindergarten<br />
teacher at Griggs Elementary School in Mobile<br />
Fast Facts Student Orgs Enrollment<br />
CEPS STUDENTS<br />
are from<br />
31<br />
states and<br />
7<br />
countries<br />
36 ACTIVE SPONSORED<br />
GRANT PROJECTS<br />
($18,007,262)<br />
68 DONOR SCHOLARSHIPS<br />
(AY 21-22 $120,389)<br />
14,664 CEPS ALUMNI<br />
(As of August <strong>2022</strong>)<br />
341 EDUCATOR<br />
EXCELLENCE<br />
SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS<br />
(AY 21-22)<br />
$4.8 MILLION<br />
left to be matched through<br />
the Mitchell-Moulton<br />
Scholarship Initiative<br />
(As of September <strong>2022</strong>)<br />
53 FULL-TIME FACULTY<br />
AND 24 STAFF<br />
CINS<br />
• Chi Sigma Iota Counseling<br />
Honor Society<br />
• Instructional Design and<br />
Developmental Graduate<br />
Student Organization<br />
• Clinical and Counseling<br />
Psychology Graduate<br />
Student Organization<br />
HTM<br />
• Eta Sigma Delta<br />
- International Hospitality<br />
Management Honor Society<br />
• Hospitality Club<br />
INGS<br />
• Alpha Sigma Lambda<br />
Honor Society<br />
HKS<br />
• Recreational Therapy<br />
Association<br />
• Jaguar Sport Management<br />
and Administration Club<br />
• Exercise Science Club<br />
• Health and Physical<br />
Education Major Club<br />
LTE<br />
• Kappa Delta Pi<br />
Honor Society<br />
1,004<br />
SUMMER 2021<br />
1,914<br />
FALL 2021<br />
1,813<br />
SPRING 2021<br />
942<br />
SUMMER <strong>2022</strong><br />
(Undergraduate and Graduate)<br />
517 INTERNSHIPS<br />
COMPLETED<br />
in the 2021-<strong>2022</strong><br />
academic year<br />
18 Undergraduate Majors<br />
4 Undergraduate Minors<br />
49 Graduate Programs<br />
5<br />
PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
Know<br />
the<br />
Lingo<br />
CEPS<br />
ACRONYMS<br />
Outreach Accreditations Publications<br />
SARIC<br />
6,409<br />
K-12 AREA<br />
EDUCATORS SERVED<br />
1,016<br />
HOURS OF PROFESSIONAL<br />
LEARNING<br />
266<br />
PROFESSIONAL<br />
DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS<br />
AMSTI<br />
4,700<br />
K-12 AREA EDUCATORS<br />
SERVED<br />
3,280<br />
HOURS OF PROFESSIONAL<br />
LEARNING<br />
616<br />
PROFESSIONAL<br />
DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS<br />
(2021-<strong>2022</strong> Academic Year)<br />
College of Education and Professional Studies<br />
programs are accredited by the Council for<br />
the Accreditation of Educator Preparation,<br />
Alabama State Department of Education,<br />
American Psychological Association, and<br />
Council for Accreditation of Counseling and<br />
Related Educational Programs.<br />
67<br />
PUBLISHED PEER-REVIEWED<br />
JOURNAL ARTICLES<br />
(246% INCREASE SINCE 2014)<br />
3<br />
PUBLISHED BOOKS<br />
6<br />
PUBLISHED BOOK CHAPTERS<br />
42<br />
NATIONAL OR INTERNATIONAL<br />
SCHOLARLY PRESENTATIONS<br />
(Fall 2021 - Summer <strong>2022</strong>)<br />
CEPS<br />
College of Education<br />
and Professional Studies<br />
CINS<br />
Counseling and<br />
Instructional Sciences<br />
HKS<br />
Health, Kinesiology,<br />
and Sport<br />
HTM<br />
Hospitality and Tourism<br />
Management<br />
INGS<br />
Integrative Studies<br />
LTE<br />
Leadership and<br />
Teacher Education<br />
SARIC<br />
South Alabama Research<br />
and Inservice Center<br />
AMSTI-USA<br />
Alabama Math, Science, and<br />
Technology Initiative at USA<br />
PASSAGE USA<br />
Preparing All Students<br />
Socially and Academically<br />
for Gainful Employment
STUDENTS | AWARDS<br />
STUDENT<br />
SPOTLIGHTS<br />
University of South Alabama College<br />
of Education and Professional Studies<br />
students were honored at the 45 th Annual<br />
Student Honors and Awards Ceremony<br />
in April <strong>2022</strong>. Congratulations to all<br />
awardees for your hard work and success.<br />
To see a full list of student awardees, visit<br />
page 10 in the magazine.<br />
Jessica Freeland, Dr. Chandru Hiremath<br />
Memorial Award, Instructional Design and<br />
Development Ph.D. Student of the Year<br />
7<br />
PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
Lucas Andrianopoulos was named the<br />
Outstanding Clinical Mental Health Counseling<br />
(M.S.) Graduate Student. Andrianopoulos<br />
recently earned a Master of Science in Clinical<br />
Mental Health Counseling. During his time at<br />
South, Andrianopoulos served as a member of<br />
the Chi Sigma Iota Counseling Academic and<br />
Professional Honor Society. He plans to run his<br />
own private practice in the future, with a longterm<br />
goal to create a practice that incorporates<br />
music therapy, poetry therapy and therapeutic<br />
horticulture within one facility. “I decided to<br />
study at South because my grandfather Walter<br />
Darring taught English for years at the University.<br />
I have always looked up to him, developing my<br />
passion for the humanities through his generous<br />
attention and appreciation. I have pivoted to<br />
a focus on counseling as an expression of my<br />
passion for counseling psychology, because I<br />
have always felt called to be there with people in<br />
their times of sufering.”<br />
Stephanie Bradford was named the<br />
Outstanding School Counseling (M.Ed.) Graduate<br />
Student. Bradford recently earned a master’s<br />
degree in school counseling and served as a<br />
member of the Chi Sigma Iota and Phi Kappa<br />
Phi honor societies. She now works as a school<br />
counselor at Leinkauf Elementary School in<br />
Mobile. “Dr. Amy Upton has been a constant<br />
source of encouragement and champion for<br />
my success in the school counseling graduate<br />
program. Given my lack of experience in<br />
the feld of education, I had my fair share of<br />
apprehension over whether I would be a good ft<br />
for the program. I also had my concerns over the<br />
feasibility of completing a full-time master’s as an<br />
‘older’ student managing the demands of a family.<br />
In that frst conversation with Dr. Upton, she<br />
exuded passion for the feld of school counseling<br />
and articulated so clearly why and how school<br />
counselors make a diference in our schools.”<br />
Katie Kennedy was named the Outstanding<br />
Exercise Science Graduate Student. Kennedy<br />
recently earned a master’s degree in exercise<br />
science. She worked as a graduate assistant and<br />
served as a member of the Academic Standards<br />
Committee. Kennedy is now pursuing a Ph.D. in<br />
Exercise Physiology at Texas Tech University.<br />
“I attended South to work with Dr. Ryan<br />
Colquhoun, and I had the unique opportunity<br />
to lead my own research from the start of my<br />
time here. I am passionate about involving more<br />
females in research and understanding how we<br />
can improve the health and wellness of not only<br />
athletes, but the everyday individual looking to<br />
be more active. Dr. Colquhoun had an inspiring<br />
impact both on my experience at South and my<br />
career. I am inspired by his ability to care about<br />
his students as people while still pushing them to<br />
pursue the highest levels of the feld academically<br />
and professionally.”<br />
Gabrielle Barnickel was named the<br />
Outstanding Educational Media and Technology<br />
(M.S.) Graduate Student. Barnickel recently<br />
earned a master’s degree in educational media<br />
and technology. She is passionate about the feld<br />
of study because she is a technology teacher<br />
for grades 3-5. Barnickel hopes to continue her<br />
education one day and pursue a doctorate. “My<br />
students inspire me professionally because it is<br />
my job to prepare them to be competent with<br />
technology. My two boys inspire me personally<br />
and are the reason I have not given up on my<br />
dream to write a children's book. My hope is<br />
to use their adventures on the farm, fshing<br />
and hunting to inspire a storyline for my book.<br />
The Jaguar family makes you feel at home. My<br />
professors have been quick to respond, help and<br />
extend grace when needed throughout my whole<br />
graduate school journey.”<br />
Heather Barsukoff was named<br />
the Outstanding Recreational Therapy<br />
Undergraduate Student. Barsukof recently<br />
earned a bachelor’s degree in recreational<br />
therapy. She served as a member of the Pre-<br />
Occupational Therapy Club, Criminal Justice<br />
Association, Indian Student Association, Mortar<br />
Board honor society and Freshman Leadership<br />
Scholars; treasurer of the Recreational Therapy<br />
Association; vice president of Campus Civitan;<br />
and peer mentor for PASSAGE USA. In addition,<br />
Barsukof was in the USA Honors College.<br />
“My plans are to pursue a doctorate degree in<br />
occupational therapy. Upon graduation, I hope to<br />
enter the workforce as an occupational therapist.<br />
My aspirations are to open a practice of my own<br />
and to heavily use therapy dogs in my treatment<br />
and practice.”<br />
Paige Stribling was named the Outstanding<br />
Health and Physical Education/Teacher<br />
Certifcation Graduate Student. Stribling recently<br />
earned a master’s degree in physical education<br />
(P-12) and started working as a P.E. teacher at<br />
Indian Springs Elementary School in Eight Mile,<br />
Alabama. She served as president of the Health<br />
and Physical Education Majors Club, manager of<br />
the women's basketball team and a member of<br />
Kappa Delta Pi honor society. Stribling said Dr.<br />
Shelley Holden was a great mentor. “She guided<br />
me through my career and pushed me out of my<br />
comfort zone many times. Thanks to her,<br />
I have done things I never thought I would do. For<br />
example, I worked with her and Dr. Craig Parkes<br />
on some research, and they had me present it at<br />
a research event. I never would have thought I'd<br />
be doing research nor presenting it at a college<br />
event, but I enjoyed every minute of it.”<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA 8
Ashley Weaver Field was named the<br />
Outstanding K-6 Teacher Education Student<br />
Teacher. Field earned her bachelor’s degree in<br />
elementary education and recently enrolled in<br />
graduate school for elementary education at South.<br />
“The College of Education and Professional Studies<br />
is unique in the fact that it has professors and<br />
staf that genuinely care about the success of their<br />
students. The professors go above and beyond and<br />
are willing to help students long after they leave<br />
their class. The frst person that comes to mind as<br />
a positive contributor to my experience at South<br />
is Mrs. Kelly Lomax. She has high expectations,<br />
but gives her students everything they need to be<br />
successful. Her dedication to seeing her students<br />
succeed is evident. She is always willing to help.”<br />
Shenavia Todd-Norwood was named the<br />
Outstanding K-12 Leadership Master’s Student.<br />
Todd-Norwood recently earned an educational<br />
administration certifcation in school leadership.<br />
During her time at South, she served as a member<br />
of Kappa Delta Pi honor society. Todd-Norwood<br />
hopes to get a job as a school administrator soon.<br />
“I decided to attend South because I believed that<br />
I could receive a quality education while staying<br />
close to home. The College of Education and<br />
Professional Studies is very unique because of the<br />
faculty’s dedication for the success of all learners.<br />
The program consists of a rigorous and informative<br />
program that provides students with requirements<br />
for application into the chosen careers.”<br />
Emily Fogt was named the Outstanding<br />
Hospitality and Tourism Management<br />
Undergraduate Student. Fogt, who is from<br />
Sidney, Ohio, recently earned a bachelor’s degree<br />
in hospitality and tourism management. She<br />
now attends Capital University Law School to<br />
focus her studies on hospitality and tourism law.<br />
While at South, Fogt served as a member of the<br />
Student Government Association, Eta Sigma<br />
Delta International Hospitality Management<br />
Society, Hospitality and Tourism Management<br />
Ambassadors and Pre-Law Society. “Every<br />
professor in the Department of Hospitality and<br />
Tourism Management at South had a huge impact<br />
on the way I think and the opportunities I've had.”<br />
Anthony Burkett was named the Outstanding<br />
PASSAGE USA Student. PASSAGE USA<br />
(Preparing All Students Socially and Academically<br />
for Gainful Employment) is a postsecondary,<br />
nondegree, certifcate program. It is designed for<br />
students who need extra support to be successful<br />
in our community. Burkett recently graduated<br />
from PASSAGE USA. During his time at South,<br />
he served as a member of the USA Civitan Club.<br />
Burkett returned to South this fall to attend the<br />
extended PASSAGE USA program. He said that Dr.<br />
Alexandra Chanto-Wetter has played a large role<br />
in his success at South. “She has always believed<br />
in me and pushed me to be better.”<br />
Jacob Green was named the Outstanding<br />
Secondary Education Student Teacher. Green<br />
recently earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary<br />
education and biology with University honors.<br />
During his time at South, Green was a member<br />
of the Student Government Association, Kappa<br />
Delta Pi and Mortar Board honor societies,<br />
Animal Rights Alliance and USA Honors College<br />
Association. Green is now pursuing a Ph.D. in<br />
Botany at Washington State and hopes to teach in<br />
higher education one day. He said that South is a<br />
special university because of the faculty. “Dr. Katie<br />
Gufey McCorrison has been my advisor, mentor<br />
and professor throughout the last three years at<br />
South. She has always exuded professionalism<br />
and friendliness towards me since day one, and for<br />
that I am forever grateful. I wouldn’t be where I<br />
am today if it weren’t for Dr. Gufey McCorrison.”<br />
Leigh Shropshire was named the Outstanding<br />
Graduate Student in Elementary/Early Childhood<br />
Education. Shropshire recently earned her<br />
master’s degree in elementary education and<br />
now works as a third grade teacher at Collier<br />
Elementary School in Mobile. “I started my<br />
master’s after being out of school for 20 years<br />
and was very hesitant to do this due to my age. Dr.<br />
Kelly Byrd was one of the frst professors I had<br />
when I began this program. She gave me great<br />
advice, answered any questions I had and was<br />
available to help me anytime I asked. I later took<br />
a math elective with Dr. Byrd where I learned<br />
so much about how to be a more efective math<br />
teacher. She made me branch out and try new<br />
things with my students, and it proved to be very<br />
benefcial to myself and my students. She was also<br />
very encouraging and supportive during a trying<br />
time in my life this past fall semester. I am so<br />
grateful for Dr. Byrd's guidance and support.”<br />
9<br />
PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
AWARDS<br />
SCAN TO READ ALL<br />
STUDENT BIOS<br />
COUNSELING AND<br />
INSTRUCTIONAL<br />
SCIENCES<br />
Jessica Freeland<br />
Dr. Chandru Hiremath<br />
Memorial Award<br />
Instructional Design<br />
and Development Ph.D.<br />
Student of the Year<br />
Sharon Holbert<br />
Dr. John E. Morrow, Sr.<br />
Memorial Award<br />
Instructional Design and<br />
Development Master’s<br />
Student of the Year<br />
Lucas Andrianopoulos<br />
Outstanding Clinical<br />
Mental Health<br />
Counseling (M.S.)<br />
Graduate Student<br />
Stephanie Bradford<br />
Outstanding School<br />
Counseling (M.Ed.)<br />
Graduate Student<br />
Patrice Browning<br />
Outstanding Educational<br />
Media-Library (M.Ed.)<br />
Graduate Student<br />
Gabrielle “Nikki”<br />
Barnickel<br />
Outstanding Educational<br />
Media and Technology<br />
(M.S.) Graduate Student<br />
Kyle Brasil<br />
Counseling and Clinical<br />
Psychology Ph.D.<br />
Research Award<br />
Hannah Hinkel<br />
Counseling and Clinical<br />
Psychology Ph.D.<br />
Psychotherapy Award<br />
HEALTH,<br />
KINESIOLOGY,<br />
AND SPORT<br />
Katie Kennedy<br />
Outstanding Exercise<br />
Science Graduate<br />
Student<br />
Elaina Rilee White<br />
Outstanding Exercise<br />
Science Undergraduate<br />
Student<br />
Rebekah Howard<br />
Outstanding Health and<br />
Physical Education/<br />
Teacher Certifcation<br />
Undergraduate Student<br />
Paige Stribling<br />
Outstanding Health and<br />
Physical Education/<br />
Teacher Certifcation<br />
Graduate Student<br />
Belinda May<br />
Outstanding Sport<br />
and Recreation<br />
Management<br />
Undergraduate Student<br />
Heather Barsukof<br />
Outstanding<br />
Recreational Therapy<br />
Undergraduate Student<br />
Sean Sutton<br />
Outstanding Sport<br />
Management Graduate<br />
Student<br />
HOSPITALITY<br />
AND TOURISM<br />
MANAGEMENT<br />
Emily Fogt<br />
Outstanding<br />
Undergraduate Student<br />
INTEGRATIVE<br />
STUDIES<br />
Amelia Rose Zimlich<br />
Outstanding<br />
Interdisciplinary Studies<br />
Student<br />
LEADERSHIP<br />
AND TEACHER<br />
EDUCATION<br />
Ashley Weaver Field<br />
Outstanding K-6<br />
Teacher Education<br />
Student Teacher<br />
Leigh Shropshire<br />
Outstanding Graduate<br />
Student-Elementary/<br />
Early Childhood<br />
Kristin Kuehn<br />
Outstanding Graduate<br />
Student-Elementary/<br />
Early Childhood<br />
Katie Johnson<br />
Outstanding Graduate<br />
Student-Special<br />
Education<br />
Anthony "Trice"<br />
Burkett<br />
Outstanding PASSAGE<br />
USA Student<br />
Shenavia Todd-<br />
Norwood<br />
Outstanding K-12<br />
Leadership Master’s<br />
Student<br />
Karin Bryson<br />
Outstanding Higher<br />
Education Leadership<br />
Master’s Student<br />
Jacob Green<br />
Outstanding Secondary<br />
Education Student<br />
Teacher<br />
Malcolm Meares<br />
Outstanding Student-<br />
Secondary Education<br />
Isabella Zimlich<br />
Outstanding<br />
Undergraduate<br />
Student-K-6 Teacher<br />
Education<br />
Mia Pennison<br />
Outstanding<br />
Undergraduate Student-<br />
Special Education 6-12<br />
Sophia Zimlich<br />
Outstanding<br />
Undergraduate Student-<br />
Early Childhood Studies<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA 10
Zimlich quintuplets, from<br />
lef, Hallie, Isabella, Shipley,<br />
Amelia Rose and Sophia<br />
The Zimlich quintuplets — Amelia<br />
Rose, Hallie, Isabella, Shipley and<br />
Sophia — enrolled at the University of<br />
South Alabama together. They took<br />
some of the same classes together.<br />
And they graduated together in May<br />
<strong>2022</strong>.<br />
After all the years together, having<br />
grown up in Saraland and attended<br />
South, they know one another pretty<br />
well. They’re part of a close family.<br />
Similar, but diferent.<br />
Shipley, who served as a lifeguard at<br />
the Student Recreation Center, thinks<br />
Amelia Rose might be the funniest of<br />
the quintuplets.<br />
“She’s very sarcastic,” he said. “I’m the<br />
same with sarcasm, but not as witty.”<br />
Amelia Rose, who served as editor of<br />
The Vanguard student newspaper at<br />
South, says Hallie is the most artistic<br />
and adventurous.<br />
“HE’S THE ONLY BOY<br />
WITH FOUR GIRLS,<br />
SO WE OVERPOWER<br />
HIM, BUT HE’S A GOOD<br />
SPORT ABOUT IT.<br />
HE’S REALLY TOUGH.<br />
HE TAKES A LOT.”<br />
“She’s playful and driven about the<br />
things that she cares about,” she said.<br />
“She’s stubborn, but in a good way.”<br />
Hallie, who majored in visual arts<br />
with a concentration in photography,<br />
calls Sophia a natural teacher.<br />
“She’s sweet. She loves children,” she<br />
said. “She’s really enjoying her job as<br />
a teacher.”<br />
Sophia, who is now working at<br />
Council Traditional School in<br />
Mobile, thinks Isabella has the best<br />
study habits.<br />
“She’s the most organized person,<br />
besides our mom, and she’s very<br />
much like our mom,” she said. “She<br />
has everything planned out. She’s<br />
very much a planner. And she likes<br />
dressing up and being girly.”<br />
Isabella, who studied elementary<br />
education, says Shipley has the<br />
thickest skin.<br />
“He’s the only boy with four girls, so<br />
we overpower him, but he’s a good<br />
sport about it,” she said. “He’s really<br />
tough. He takes a lot.”<br />
The Zimlich quintuplets, who are 23<br />
years old, enrolled at South in the<br />
fall of 2018. South runs in the family.<br />
Their grandfather, Dr. Eugene Aromi,<br />
was an education professor at the<br />
11<br />
PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
University. Their father, Mark Zimlich, earned a bachelor’s<br />
degree in criminal justice, while their mother, Jeannette<br />
Zimlich, earned a bachelor’s degree in education.<br />
They have an older sister, Temple, who graduated from<br />
South with her master’s in elementary education in 2021,<br />
and a younger brother, Julius, who is a sophomore at<br />
the University.<br />
When the quintuplets were born prematurely at USA<br />
Health Children’s and Women’s Hospital in 1999, each of<br />
them weighed less than two pounds. They spent months in<br />
the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, but all of them survived<br />
and thrived.<br />
Gordon Moulton, president of South at the time, promised<br />
them all full scholarships. Nineteen years later, the<br />
Zimlichs accepted that ofer.<br />
While at South, the Zimlichs had part-time jobs at the<br />
Student Recreation Center. Some worked with Jaguar<br />
Productions. Others were involved with the Catholic<br />
Student Center. Isabella, who was named 2021-<strong>2022</strong><br />
Outstanding Undergraduate in Elementary Education at<br />
South, worked at the Center for Academic Excellence.<br />
“I loved it — it’s such a fantastic community,” she said. “I<br />
started out as a Jag Pal, and then I became a subject tutor<br />
and a success coach.”<br />
Isabella passed her edTPA Teacher Performance<br />
Assessment and recently started teaching kindergarten at<br />
Kate Shepard Elementary School in Mobile.<br />
Sophia, who was named 2021-<strong>2022</strong> Outstanding<br />
Undergraduate in Early Childhood Studies, was hired<br />
at Council Traditional School prior to starting her spring<br />
internship there.<br />
“I got hired over Christmas break in 2021, and it was such a<br />
surprise,” she said. “I thought I was living in a dream for a<br />
little bit. I didn’t think it would go so smoothly for me.”<br />
Shipley, who earned a degree in exercise science, now<br />
works as the assistant aquatics director at the Country<br />
Club of Mobile. He has his pilot’s license and enjoys fying<br />
over Mobile Bay, Dauphin Island and the Gulf of Mexico.<br />
He dreams of becoming a Navy pilot.<br />
Hallie, the artist, got the idea for her major from<br />
Amelia Rose.<br />
“It snowed in Mobile one year, and I took some pictures,<br />
and she said I should think about photography,” Hallie<br />
said. “So I was like, OK. I had thought about doing<br />
ceramics, but I don’t think I would have been as<br />
passionate about that.”<br />
The Zimlich quintuplets meet with University of South Alabama<br />
President Jo Bonner at a graduation brunch.<br />
After graduation, Hallie apprenticed with a local<br />
photographer to learn more about art and business.<br />
She now works at Masquerade, a Mardi Gras foatbuilding<br />
company.<br />
Amelia Rose, who served as the Vanguard editor, might<br />
have been the most prominent Zimlich on campus. She<br />
wrote news stories and opinion columns, but wasn’t<br />
interested in clickbait.<br />
“The goal wasn’t to be controversial,” she said. “The goal<br />
was to be truthful.”<br />
Amelia Rose started at South as a music major. She<br />
enjoyed playing the guitar and writing songs, but<br />
not enough to make it her career. She began taking<br />
communication classes, became a reporter and editor,<br />
and graduated with a degree in interdisciplinary<br />
studies; she was the program’s 2021-<strong>2022</strong> Outstanding<br />
Undergraduate Student.<br />
Amelia Rose completed internships at Elevator World, an<br />
international trade magazine, WKRG News 5 and Mobile<br />
Bay Magazine. She recently accepted a full-time position<br />
as an editorial assistant at Mobile Bay.<br />
“Working for a magazine that celebrates the bay area is<br />
such a dream,” Amelia Rose said. “I started my job in May<br />
feeling very prepared thanks to the courses I took at South<br />
and my internships.”<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA 12
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT | CONTRACTS AND GRANTS<br />
Community-Engaged Scholarship<br />
The University of South Alabama College of Education<br />
and Professional Studies is a hub for research that seeks<br />
innovation in K-12 education as well as in the areas of<br />
disabilities, mental health, youth violence and physical<br />
health. College faculty devote roughly a third of their time<br />
to research and community and industry service, much<br />
of which is externally funded. These endeavors involve<br />
the college in community and economic development<br />
endeavors throughout the upper Gulf Coast. Doing<br />
everything from studying how to best teach children<br />
computer coding to understanding vaccine behaviors during<br />
the pandemic, faculty are community-engaged scholars.<br />
“The isolation imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic could<br />
have easily severely stunted much of our faculty’s research,<br />
particularly that which involved partnerships with external<br />
partners,” said Dr. Trés Stefurak, associate dean and director<br />
of the College of Education and Professional Studies Ofce<br />
of Contracts and Grants. “What was very surprising is that<br />
faculty proposals for funded research actually increased<br />
during the pandemic.”<br />
Above: As part of a National Science Foundation grant project,<br />
a multidisciplinary team of faculty are training pre-service<br />
elementary teachers to improve their subject knowledge,<br />
computational thinking and design thinking skills.<br />
Externally Funded Community Engagement<br />
Research and Service Projects<br />
IMPACTING EDUCATION<br />
PASSAGE USA Expansion:<br />
The PASSAGE USA program ofers a<br />
college experience to students with<br />
intellectual disabilities. The new grant<br />
allows PASSAGE USA to expand from<br />
a two-year to a four-year program.<br />
PASSAGE USA student experiences<br />
have also enhanced with the<br />
addition of new services provided by<br />
graduate students in counseling and<br />
occupational therapy.<br />
Funded by: U.S. Department of Education<br />
Principal Investigator: Dr. Abigail Baxter,<br />
Department of Leadership and Teacher<br />
Education<br />
13 PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong><br />
Co-Principal Investigators: Dr. Linda<br />
Reeves, Department of Leadership and Teacher<br />
Education; Dr. Yvette Getch, Department of<br />
Counseling and Instructional Sciences; and Dr.<br />
Tara Thompson, Department of Occupational<br />
Therapy (Pat Capps Covey College of Allied<br />
Health Professions)<br />
Total Funding: $321,811<br />
Southwest Alabama Partnership<br />
for Training and Employment<br />
(SWAPTE) Job Supports:<br />
This grant funds compensated<br />
work experiences for PASSAGE<br />
USA students.<br />
Funded by: Southwest Alabama Partnership<br />
for Training<br />
Principal Investigator: Dr. Abby Baxter,<br />
Department of Leadership and Teacher<br />
Education<br />
Total Funding: $151,662<br />
Science Teacher, Research,<br />
Education and Methods (STREAM):<br />
This will fund recruitment and<br />
scholarships for STEM (science,<br />
technology, engineering, math)<br />
teachers earning the alternative<br />
master’s degree in secondary science<br />
education in the College of Education<br />
and Professional Studies.
The program will provide a range of<br />
support as well as scholarships that<br />
promote professional STEM education<br />
skills, professional identity as a STEM<br />
educator and resiliency among these<br />
future STEM educators.<br />
Funded by: National Science Foundation<br />
Principal Investigator: Dr. Katie Gufey<br />
McCorrison, Department of Leadership and<br />
Teacher Education<br />
Co-Principal Investigators: Dr. David Forbes,<br />
Department of Chemistry (College of Arts and<br />
Sciences); Dr. Justin Sanders, Department of<br />
Physics (College of Arts and Sciences); Dr. Andre<br />
Green (USA Academic Afairs); and Dr. Trés<br />
Stefurak (College of Education and Professional<br />
Studies)<br />
Total Funding: $1,171,305<br />
“What was very<br />
surprising is that<br />
faculty proposals<br />
for funded<br />
research actually<br />
increased during<br />
the pandemic.”<br />
Dr. Trés Stefurak, associate dean and<br />
director of the College of Education<br />
and Professional Studies Ofce of<br />
Contracts and Grants<br />
Preparing Elementary Pre-Service<br />
Teachers to Integrate Computing<br />
across the Curriculum (PEPTICC):<br />
This grant funds the training of K-12<br />
teachers to deliver instruction on<br />
computer coding in their curricula.<br />
The content will focus on four types of<br />
knowledge: computing, K-6 subject<br />
content, technology and pedagogy.<br />
The second goal of this project is<br />
to establish an evidence-based<br />
model with guidelines for integrating<br />
computing in K-6 subject content.<br />
Funded by: National Science Foundation<br />
Principal Investigator: Dr. Shenghua Zha,<br />
Department of Counseling and Instructional<br />
Sciences<br />
Co-Principal Investigators: Dr. Lauren<br />
Brannan, Department of Leadership and<br />
Teacher Education; Dr. Na Gong (College of<br />
Engineering); Dr. Karen Morrison, Department of<br />
Leadership and Teacher Education; and Dr. Kelly<br />
Byrd, Department of Leadership and Teacher<br />
Education<br />
Total Funding: $299,929<br />
IMPACTING WELLNESS<br />
AND HEALTH<br />
Salidroside and Exercise<br />
Performance:<br />
This grant funds a randomized,<br />
double-blind study to evaluate<br />
the efect of salidroside nutrition<br />
supplements on exercise performance<br />
and on markers of muscle damage<br />
and infammation. Salidroside is a<br />
compound in the Rhodiola plant. It has<br />
been found to have antioxidant, antiinfammatory<br />
and neuroprotective<br />
efects and to reduce muscle<br />
atrophy, and it is purported to be an<br />
adaptogen that reduces the body’s<br />
response to stress.<br />
Funded by: Double Rainbow Biosciences, Inc.<br />
Principal Investigator: Dr. Neil Schwarz,<br />
Department of Health, Kinesiology, and Sport<br />
Total Funding: $174,415<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA 14
Dying to Be Masculine: Investigating<br />
the Longitudinal Relationships<br />
between Traditional Masculinity and<br />
Men's COVID-19 Vaccine Attitudes<br />
and Behavior: This grant funds<br />
research into the factors behind sex<br />
diferences in COVID-19 vaccination<br />
rates. Men, especially men of color,<br />
are disproportionately more likely to<br />
develop severe COVID, but their rates<br />
of vaccination lag behind those of<br />
women. Increasing evidence points<br />
toward internalized masculinity norms,<br />
i.e., rigid and restrictive gender roles<br />
for men that prohibit a variety of<br />
healthy and adaptive behaviors, as a<br />
contributing factor.<br />
Funded by: Centers for Disease Control and<br />
Prevention, and American Psychological<br />
Association<br />
Principal Investigator: Dr. Ryon McDermott,<br />
Department of Counseling and Instructional<br />
Sciences<br />
Total Funding: $247,239<br />
A Comparative Study of Media<br />
Consumption in Relation to<br />
Healthcare in Rural and Urban<br />
Counties in Alabama:<br />
This grant funds research on the<br />
associations between social media<br />
use and beliefs in conspiracy theories<br />
and misinformation among rural<br />
and urban communities and white<br />
and African American communities in<br />
Mobile, Alabama. The primary goal<br />
is to visualize how information (both<br />
false and accurate) fows through<br />
social media, traditional media and<br />
social networks to infuence decision<br />
making.<br />
Funded by: Air Force Ofce of Scientifc<br />
Research<br />
Principal Investigators: Dr. Prakash<br />
Duraisamy (School of Computing) and Dr. James<br />
Van Haneghan, Department of Counseling and<br />
Instructional Sciences<br />
Total Funding: $597,906<br />
IMPACTING COMMUNITY<br />
SAFETY AND YOUTH<br />
RESILIENCE<br />
Preventing Youth Violence Through<br />
Building Equitable Communities:<br />
An Evaluation of a Multisystemic<br />
Intervention: This grant funds research<br />
to look at whether an intervention<br />
addressing structural racism in<br />
education and law enforcement<br />
reduces interpersonal violence and<br />
suicidal behaviors among middleschool<br />
students. The study focuses on<br />
African American and low-income<br />
communities and will examine both<br />
youth-level and community-level<br />
changes.<br />
Funded by: National Institute on Minority<br />
Health and Health Disparities<br />
Principal Investigator: Dr. Krista Mehari<br />
(College of Arts and Sciences)<br />
Co-Principal Investigators: Dr. Benterah<br />
Morton, Department of Leadership and Teacher<br />
Education; Dr. Joél Billingsley, vice president for<br />
Diversity and Community Engagement; and Dr.<br />
Phillip Smith (College of Arts and Sciences)<br />
Key Personnel: Dr. Trés Stefurak (College of<br />
Education and Professional Studies)<br />
Total Funding: $3,671,405<br />
Community-Based Crisis<br />
Intervention Training and Support<br />
for Primary Responders:<br />
In partnership with Global USA and<br />
the Center for Continuing Education<br />
and Conference Services, this grant<br />
funds delivery and evaluation of the<br />
Crisis Intervention Team training<br />
model to law enforcement ofcers<br />
throughout the region. The Crisis<br />
Intervention Team model focuses on<br />
tactics that reduce use of force and<br />
promote referral to mental health<br />
care services when ofcers encounter<br />
people with mental illness.<br />
Funded by: U.S. Department of Justice<br />
Principal Investigators: Dr. Trés Stefurak<br />
(College of Education and Professional Studies)<br />
and Joy Aull (Center for Continuing Education<br />
and Conference Services)<br />
Total Funding: $500,000<br />
Justice and Mental Health<br />
Collaboration Program:<br />
This grant subaward funds program<br />
evaluation services as part of<br />
the City of Mobile’s grant to fund<br />
implementation of a co-response<br />
model of mental health crisis<br />
response, in which police and mental<br />
health professionals respond in a<br />
collaborative and coordinated way to<br />
citizens in mental health crises.<br />
Funded by: U.S. Department of Justice<br />
Principal Investigator: Dr. Trés Stefurak (College<br />
of Education and Professional Studies)<br />
Total Funding: $92,672<br />
Program Evaluation of The Bridge's<br />
Mobile County Transitions Program:<br />
This subaward supports evaluation<br />
of the Mobile County Juvenile<br />
Court’s primary community-based<br />
intervention program, Mobile County<br />
Transitions. It includes in-home<br />
family therapy and intensive case<br />
management for court-involved<br />
youths.<br />
Funded by: Alabama Department of Youth<br />
Services<br />
Principal Investigator: Dr. Trés Stefurak<br />
(College of Education and Professional Studies)<br />
Total Funding: $30,367<br />
15 PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
EDUCATOR EXCELLENCE SCHOLARSHIP<br />
Alabama Educators Qualify to<br />
Receive 20% Tuition Reduction<br />
Enroll in a graduate-level teacher education program today.<br />
Multiple online and in-person Master of Education and Ed.S. programs qualify.<br />
Scan below to learn how Adrian Johnson combines her passion for<br />
reading and technology as a media specialist.<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALAB AMA 16
FACULTY OUTREACH<br />
Research Experiences<br />
for Teachers<br />
In summer <strong>2022</strong>, the Research<br />
Experiences for Teachers program<br />
at the University of South Alabama<br />
welcomed its second cohort as part<br />
of a more than $600,000 National<br />
Science Foundation grant. Leading<br />
the program are Dr. Shenghua Zha,<br />
assistant professor of counseling and<br />
instructional sciences, and Dr. Na<br />
Gong, Warren Nicholson Endowed<br />
professor of electrical and computer<br />
engineering.<br />
Twelve teachers from Mobile and<br />
Baldwin counties participated in<br />
the six-week program in summer<br />
<strong>2022</strong>, which included discovery-<br />
The goals of the program include<br />
helping South scientists and<br />
engineers build relationships with<br />
teachers and administrators at local<br />
schools. It also ofers the University<br />
an opportunity to improve teacher<br />
experiences and recruit engineering<br />
and computing students.<br />
“We are excited to see the<br />
development of collegiality<br />
and collaboration among the<br />
participating teachers and the South<br />
team members,” Zha said. “This year,<br />
our instructional focus is helping<br />
teachers develop AI-integrated<br />
curricula in their STEM courses.”<br />
“WE ARE EXCITED TO SEE THE DEVELOPMENT<br />
OF COLLEGIALITY AND COLLABORATION<br />
AMONG THE PARTICIPATING TEACHERS AND<br />
THE SOUTH TEAM MEMBERS.”<br />
based research with faculty and<br />
pedagogical workshops. Eight<br />
teachers started the program in<br />
summer 2021.<br />
The second cohort of teachers will<br />
work with the team at South in fall<br />
<strong>2022</strong> and spring 2023 to develop<br />
ways of using artifcial intelligence in<br />
their middle- or high-school STEM<br />
classes. A third group of science,<br />
technology, engineering and math<br />
educators will go through the same<br />
training in summer 2023.<br />
Summer lab work and lectures<br />
are just the beginning of the<br />
project. Teachers receive a stipend<br />
for participation and a budget to<br />
purchase equipment for<br />
their classrooms.<br />
Teachers in the research program<br />
are organized into four groups, each<br />
focusing on a facet of biologically<br />
inspired computing systems.<br />
The focus areas are advanced<br />
hyperspectral imaging techniques<br />
for early cancer detection, design<br />
of biologically inspired computing<br />
chips/systems, advanced powerefcient<br />
computer memory chips<br />
and support software.<br />
Mentors leading the groups are<br />
Gong; Dr. Silas Leavesley, professor<br />
of chemical and biomolecular<br />
engineering; Dr. Jinhui Wang,<br />
associate professor of electrical<br />
and computer engineering; and<br />
Dr. Jingshan Huang, professor of<br />
computer science. Drs. Katie Gufey<br />
McCorrison and Christopher Parrish<br />
from the College of Education and<br />
Mike Fletcher and Amber Simpson, a pair of<br />
Mobile County Public Schools science teachers,<br />
doing lab work during summer 2021 at the<br />
University of South Alabama<br />
17 PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
Professional Studies have taught<br />
workshops and will continue to<br />
ofer consultation and conduct<br />
collaborative research. Dr. James<br />
Van Haneghan, interim chair of<br />
counseling and instructional sciences,<br />
leads formative and summative<br />
evaluations for the project.<br />
Teachers from the frst cohort are<br />
Amber Simpson (Ben C. Rain High<br />
School), Anthony Bondora (Davidson<br />
High School), Ashton Irvin (Davidson<br />
High School), Charlene Lockett<br />
(Blount High School), Michael<br />
Fletcher (Davidson High School),<br />
Randa Smith (Central Baldwin<br />
Middle School), Shila Gilbert (John<br />
L. LeFlore Magnet High School) and<br />
Victoria Wilson (Murphy High School).<br />
Teachers from the second cohort are<br />
Amber Simpson (Ben C. Rain High<br />
School), Angie Irvin (UMS-Wright<br />
Preparatory School), Ashton Irvin<br />
(Mobile County Public Schools),<br />
Kenneth Holmes (Ben C. Rain High<br />
School), Marcy Bragdon (Saraland<br />
High School), Myeshea Holmes<br />
(Ben C. Rain High School), Matthew<br />
Davenport (Alabama School of<br />
Mathematics and Science), Michael<br />
Fletcher (Davidson High School),<br />
Mykel Williams (Fairhope Middle<br />
School), Shaundrie Jones (John L.<br />
Lefore Magnet High School), Stacey<br />
Thomas (Ben C. Rain High School)<br />
and Tchanavia Rabb (Scarborough<br />
Model Middle School).<br />
Participants in the second cohort of the<br />
Research Experiences for Teachers program<br />
photographed at Shelby Hall on campus at the<br />
University of South Alabama<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALAB AMA 18
Increasing Science<br />
Teachers in Local<br />
Schools with STREAM<br />
The University of South Alabama College of Education<br />
and Professional Studies was awarded a $1.2 million<br />
grant from the National Science Foundation Robert Noyce<br />
Teacher Scholarship Program. This grant will help address<br />
the shortage of certifed, highly qualifed science teachers<br />
for grades six through 12 in rural and urban areas of<br />
Mobile County.<br />
The new project, Investigating Science Teacher Research,<br />
Education and Methods Used to Prepare Pre-Service<br />
Science Teachers, will be known as STREAM. The grant<br />
seeks to help students in low-performing schools. It also<br />
focuses on increasing racial and ethnic diversity among<br />
science teachers.<br />
“As we continue to be one of<br />
the leading institutions of<br />
higher education on the Gulf<br />
Coast, we are very proud to<br />
receive this new grant.”<br />
STREAM will recruit potential science teacher candidates<br />
each spring during the fnal semester of their bachelor’s<br />
degree studies in a STEM feld (science, technology,<br />
engineering, mathematics). A 10-week pre-residency<br />
experience, including classroom experience, will begin in<br />
the following fall semester.<br />
Each yearly cohort will have four students. The $40,000<br />
per student scholarship will pay for tuition, books, fees and<br />
a housing stipend. The project has a goal of producing 16<br />
new science teachers over the fve-year duration of the<br />
grant.<br />
The principal investigator for the NSF grant is Dr. Katie<br />
Gufey McCorrison, assistant professor of science<br />
education in the College of Education and Professional<br />
Studies Department of Leadership and Teacher Education.<br />
She was a Noyce Scholar. After completing her master’s<br />
degree, she taught earth science to ninth graders.<br />
“As a white female teacher, I got to see the challenges<br />
and barriers that many children of color face while in an<br />
inner-city school,” Gufey McCorrison said. “I faced many<br />
College of Education and Professional Studies and College of Arts and<br />
Sciences faculty will support a new $1.2 million grant to help increase the<br />
number of k-12 science teachers in rural and urban areas of Mobile County.<br />
challenges as a frst-year teacher. I was not equipped<br />
to teach students in my classroom. But that frst-year<br />
experience inspired me to want to pursue my Ph.D. and<br />
use what I learned as a Noyce Scholar to look at the<br />
structural boundaries so that I could train other teachers<br />
to better serve all students.”<br />
Co-principal investigators are Dr. David Forbes,<br />
professor of chemistry; Dr. Andre Green, professor<br />
of science education and associate vice president<br />
of Academic Afairs; Dr. Justin Sanders, associate<br />
professor and department chair of physics; and Dr. Tres<br />
Stefurak, associate dean in the College of Education<br />
and Professional Studies and professor of counseling<br />
psychology. Dr. James Van Haneghan, professor of<br />
professional studies, will manage the evaluation of the<br />
program.<br />
The grant project will also create partnerships with Mobile<br />
County Public Schools, Bishop State Community College,<br />
the Alabama State Department of Education’s Alabama<br />
Science in Motion initiative, and the Alabama Math,<br />
Science and Technology Initiative.<br />
“As we continue to be one of the leading institutions of<br />
higher education on the Gulf Coast, we are very proud<br />
to receive this new grant,” Gufey McCorrison said. “I am<br />
also grateful for all the work that Dr. Green has done to<br />
make sure our teachers are prepared no matter what<br />
child they provide classroom instruction to. I was able to<br />
use Dr. Green’s model when writing this new grant.<br />
I value his expertise and his success with students<br />
from urban areas.”<br />
19 PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
Partnering to Curb<br />
Youth Violence<br />
The University of South Alabama, in collaboration with<br />
Mobile County Public Schools and the Mobile Police<br />
Department, recently launched SOAR, an initiative<br />
focused on reducing youth violence and suicide. Short<br />
for Strengthening Opportunities for Achievement and<br />
Resilience, SOAR will be implemented under the umbrella<br />
of Operation Echo Stop, the police department’s initiative<br />
launched in February <strong>2022</strong> to help stop gun violence in the<br />
city. SOAR is supported by a fve-year, $3.5 million grant<br />
from the National Institutes of Health.<br />
“I believe we’re in, and have been at, a critical junction<br />
with youth violence for decades,” said Commander Curtis<br />
Graves, with the police department’s Ofce of Strategic<br />
Initiatives. “Youth violence has become a public health<br />
crisis and should be treated as such, regardless of the size<br />
of the town or city you live in.”<br />
The frst year will include baseline data collection to<br />
identify rates of youth violence and suicidal inclinations in<br />
Mobile before the intervention process begins.<br />
Dr. Krista Mehari, assistant professor of psychology, said<br />
she hopes SOAR will become a national model for youth<br />
violence prevention. “We want to intervene to change the<br />
trajectory before these youths get started on a path that<br />
could end in death, injury or incarceration.”<br />
University researchers will survey youths about their<br />
behaviors and experiences. Four middle schools, one in<br />
each of the city’s police precincts, will participate.<br />
The University of South Alabama held an ofcial press conference for<br />
SOAR at the MacQueen Alumni Center in July <strong>2022</strong>. Principals from each<br />
participating school chose a balloon that revealed the year intervention<br />
strategies would begin at their schools.<br />
“We want to intervene to<br />
change the trajectory before<br />
these youths get started on a<br />
path that could end in death,<br />
injury or incarceration.”<br />
The project will include school-based strategies,<br />
law enforcement strategies and integrated<br />
community intervention.<br />
"SOAR is a worthwhile initiative that will expand upon<br />
the work that school counselors, social workers, teachers,<br />
administrators and security personnel have been doing<br />
to make sure that we are meeting not only the academic<br />
goals of our students, but also their social and emotional<br />
needs,” said Mobile County Public Schools Superintendent<br />
Chresal D. Threadgill. “We are looking forward to working<br />
with the University of South Alabama and the Mobile<br />
Police Department on this very important project."<br />
Co-investigators for SOAR are Dr. Phillip Smith, professor<br />
of psychology; Dr. Benterah Morton, associate professor<br />
of educational leadership and administration; and Dr.<br />
Joél Billingsley, vice president for diversity and community<br />
engagement. Dr. Trés Stefurak, associate dean for the<br />
College of Education and Professional Studies and<br />
professor of counseling psychology, serves as key<br />
personnel on the grant.<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA 20
STUDENT FIELD PLACEMENTS<br />
Field Ready<br />
The University of South Alabama College of Education and Professional<br />
Studies prides itself on providing students with opportunities for handson<br />
experience in their disciplines. That creates long-lasting relationships<br />
between students and the college’s industry partners. Field experience lets<br />
students apply classroom-learned skills to real-world problems. Those<br />
connections give students an advantage over future job competitors.<br />
Dylan Thomas will earn<br />
a bachelor’s degree<br />
in exercise science in<br />
spring 2023. He chose<br />
this discipline because<br />
of his passion for ftness<br />
and family. Through<br />
his mentor, Dr. Shelly<br />
Holden, a professor in<br />
the Department of Health,<br />
Kinesiology, and Sport,<br />
Thomas has learned how<br />
to help people develop a<br />
better sense of wellness.<br />
As an intern with a home<br />
healthcare clinic, Saad<br />
Healthcare in Mobile, he<br />
helps guide and motivate<br />
patients in Saad's Rock<br />
Steady Boxing program for<br />
individuals with Parkinson's<br />
disease. He’s eager to show<br />
his patients that no task is<br />
too big. Thomas’ favorite<br />
part of the internship has<br />
been connecting with<br />
each individual, making<br />
an impact on their lives<br />
and “seeing a smile on<br />
their faces after a workout,<br />
knowing they’re improving.”<br />
After graduation, Thomas<br />
hopes for a job that inspires<br />
him to wake up each<br />
morning looking forward to<br />
assisting people with their<br />
overall wellness.<br />
Dylan Thomas, pictured lef, working<br />
with a patient at Saad Healthcare’s<br />
Rock Steady Boxing program<br />
21 PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
Katie Wilson recently<br />
earned a master’s degree<br />
in higher education<br />
administration at South.<br />
She also earned a<br />
bachelor’s degree in<br />
art with a concentration<br />
in studio art from the<br />
University. Wilson was<br />
eager to understand<br />
the dynamics of higher<br />
education. She also wanted<br />
to apply the creative skills<br />
from her undergraduate<br />
program. Courses about<br />
law and regulations gave<br />
her a new perspective on<br />
the feld. Dr. Peggy Delmas,<br />
assistant professor in the<br />
Department of Leadership<br />
and Teacher Education,<br />
arranged an internship for<br />
Wilson at the University of<br />
North Florida in Jacksonville.<br />
Wilson worked for the<br />
housing and residence life<br />
department as well as the<br />
department administering<br />
compliance with Title IX, the<br />
federal law that prohibits<br />
sex-based discrimination.<br />
She learned the dynamics<br />
of the campus, grew<br />
connections and explored<br />
the operations of diferent<br />
departments. Wilson would<br />
like to pursue a doctorate<br />
in education and work in<br />
student services.<br />
Laura Thomas earned a<br />
bachelor’s and a master’s<br />
degree in elementary<br />
education at South. She<br />
needed library media<br />
certifcation to accept<br />
an opportunity for her<br />
dream job as a library<br />
media specialist. So she<br />
enrolled in the fully online<br />
Master of Education<br />
in Educational Media<br />
program at South, which<br />
leads to library media<br />
certifcation. She said she<br />
enjoyed South's “family<br />
feel” and credited much of<br />
her success in the program<br />
to advisor and Assistant<br />
Professor Dr. Pamela<br />
Moore. Thomas will earn<br />
a master's in educational<br />
media in May 2023. She<br />
interned with the Fairhope<br />
Public Library in Baldwin<br />
County, Alabama, and<br />
learned the importance<br />
of collaborating with local<br />
libraries. That handson<br />
experience enabled<br />
her to form long-lasting<br />
relationships with the staf,<br />
who continue to support<br />
and mentor Thomas to this<br />
day. She now serves as the<br />
library media specialist at<br />
Fairhope Middle School.<br />
Samuel Richardson will<br />
graduate in fall <strong>2022</strong> with<br />
a bachelor’s degree in<br />
interdisciplinary studies and<br />
a concentration in applied<br />
sciences. In summer<br />
2020, Richardson earned<br />
an Emergency Medical<br />
Technician certifcation,<br />
which helped establish his<br />
passion for a career in the<br />
health feld. He pursued<br />
an interdisciplinary studies<br />
degree at South because<br />
the program accepted<br />
previously earned credits<br />
and ofered new credits<br />
needed for physician<br />
assistant school. He loves<br />
the variety and fexibility<br />
of the program courses.<br />
Richardson interned with<br />
Victory Health Partners in<br />
Mobile, where he gained<br />
experience working with<br />
patients who lack health<br />
insurance. The internship<br />
showed him how what he<br />
had learned in each of his<br />
disciplines in school applied<br />
in real life. It also helped<br />
him improve at balancing<br />
life, work and school. After<br />
graduation, Richardson<br />
plans to move abroad to<br />
practice medicine in a lowincome<br />
community.<br />
Kristi Kadel will earn<br />
a bachelor’s degree in<br />
hospitality and tourism<br />
management in spring<br />
2023. “The program<br />
combines a variety of<br />
subject matters in order<br />
to create the perfect<br />
range of skill sets needed<br />
to enter the workforce,”<br />
Kadel said. Her mentor,<br />
Assistant Professor<br />
Amanda Donaldson,<br />
helped her connect with<br />
her current supervisor at<br />
the Fort Condé Inn and<br />
its restaurant, Bistro St.<br />
Emanuel, in Mobile, where<br />
she still works after starting<br />
as an intern. Working in<br />
a hotel setting has given<br />
Kadel a variety of skills<br />
needed for a career in<br />
hospitality and tourism<br />
management. “The bond<br />
at both Fort Condé Inn and<br />
Bistro St. Emanuel is like<br />
no other,” Kadel said. The<br />
job has shown her how<br />
classroom information<br />
applies in the professional<br />
world. After graduation,<br />
Kadel hopes to work in<br />
management and possibly<br />
explore diferent sectors of<br />
hospitality.<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA 22
SARIC<br />
National Certifcate for STEM Teaching<br />
T<br />
The University of South Alabama Research and Inservice<br />
Center (SARIC) was established by the Alabama<br />
Legislature in 1984-85 as one of 11 statewide regional<br />
centers. SARIC’s mission is to provide professional learning<br />
to pre-K-12 educators in designated public school systems<br />
in its geographic region. The center serves more than<br />
7,500 educators in ACCEL Academy, Baldwin County<br />
Public Schools, Chickasaw City Schools, Clarke County<br />
School District, Gulf Shores City Schools, Mobile County<br />
Public Schools, Monroe County Public Schools, Orange<br />
Beach City Schools, Satsuma City Schools, Saraland City<br />
Schools, Thomasville City Schools and Washington County<br />
Public Schools.<br />
SARIC supports professional learning in literacy,<br />
math, science, social studies, technology, special<br />
education, health, library/media services, economics,<br />
administration and guidance/counseling. During the<br />
2021-<strong>2022</strong> academic year, SARIC and the USA College<br />
of Education and Professional Studies’ Robert Noyce<br />
Teacher Scholarship Program partnered with the National<br />
Institute for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering<br />
and Mathematics) Education to ofer the frst National<br />
Certifcate for STEM Teaching cohort. Participants were<br />
49 secondary math and science teachers from lower<br />
Alabama. A second cohort involved 42 more teachers.<br />
The National Certifcate for STEM Teaching cohort<br />
received comprehensive support during the program,<br />
which includes:<br />
• A live virtual informational session focused on an<br />
overview of the program.<br />
• A live virtual launch focused on setting candidates<br />
up for success, including navigation and program<br />
requirements.<br />
• On-site support involving six hours of professional<br />
learning sessions focused on the 15 STEM Teacher<br />
Actions and unpacking what defnes quality STEM<br />
instruction.<br />
• Live virtual monthly support sessions providing<br />
candidates with opportunities to work collaboratively<br />
with their peers and a coach to address<br />
misconceptions, scafold learning, navigate elements<br />
of a successful submission and more.<br />
"The National Certifcate for STEM Teaching cohort<br />
provided support and resources that helped make<br />
the journey to STEM certifcation possible,” said Mykel<br />
Williams, a math teacher at Fairhope Middle School in<br />
Fairhope. “I am grateful to SARIC and the University of<br />
South Alabama College of Education and Professional<br />
Studies for making this possible.”<br />
SARIC and the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship<br />
Program recently welcomed a third National Certifcate<br />
for STEM Teaching cohort of 32 more math and science<br />
teachers. The goal is to continue supporting educators as<br />
they strengthen STEM integration in Alabama classrooms.<br />
23 PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
AMSTI-USA<br />
Alabama’s Roadmap<br />
to STEM Success<br />
In November 2019, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey presented a<br />
plan to improve STEM education across the state and<br />
create a workforce pipeline critical to providing the more<br />
than 850,000 STEM workers that will be needed in the<br />
state by 2026.<br />
“Academically, Alabama’s students have fallen behind in<br />
math and science profciency, and signifcant educator<br />
shortages make it difcult to recruit, train and retain well<br />
qualifed educators equipped in the methods of a modern<br />
STEM classroom,” Ivey said. “This is why I am encouraged by<br />
the recommendations included in Alabama’s Roadmap to<br />
STEM Success, developed by the Governor’s Advisory Council<br />
for Excellence in STEM.”<br />
The council, a group of 78 leaders from across the state<br />
representing STEM-related felds (science, technology,<br />
engineering and mathematics), included K-12 and<br />
undergraduate education representatives, as well as industry<br />
and community leaders. The Alabama Roadmap to STEM<br />
Success recommended mathematics instructional coaches at<br />
each elementary school to help the school's math teachers<br />
improve their teaching methods.<br />
Through the support of the Alabama Department of<br />
Education's Alabama Math, Science, and Technology<br />
Initiative (AMSTI), a Teacher in Residence pilot project was<br />
launched to develop mathematics teacher leaders to fll<br />
coach positions. The teachers in residence provide coaching,<br />
support and professional learning to build mathematics<br />
content and pedagogical knowledge, to increase teacher<br />
application of eight practices of efective mathematics<br />
instruction and to increase student use of the mathematics<br />
practice standards. They work with school administrators,<br />
a Mathematics School Improvement Team and an AMSTI<br />
specialist mentor toward school mathematics goals,<br />
including those for student achievement, community support,<br />
and family and stakeholder involvement.<br />
Meet three math teachers in residences that completed<br />
training with the Alabama Math, Science and Technology<br />
Initiative at the University of South Alabama.<br />
Math Teacher in Residence Spotlights<br />
DENITA HANKINS BROOKE LOVE REBECCA SOUMEILLAN<br />
Thomasville Elementary School Chickasaw Elementary School Monroeville Elementary School<br />
“As a teacher, you might get stuck doing “I am so thankful to be a Teacher in “For the last three years, my journey as<br />
the same thing every year. As a Teacher Residence. I have been able to receive a Teacher in Residence has been a great<br />
in Residence and through the AMSTI incredible support from my mentoring learning experience as I worked side<br />
training, I get to help my teachers with new specialist, Raphaella Archie, and from by side with teachers at our school to<br />
strategies. My teachers have really opened several of the other Region 10 AMSTI implement research-based strategies to<br />
up and been willing to change and do math specialists. They have helped me improve our students’ learning. I am so<br />
things a little diferently. They have pride develop my skills in leadership, content thankful for the opportunity to be a part<br />
in these new techniques. I’ve really seen and pedagogy, and coaching. I cannot of such a hard-working team of educators<br />
improvements with my teachers and with imagine beginning my journey as a math that allow me to share my love for math<br />
our students in the classroom.” coach without their expertise, listening with others.”<br />
ears and constant support.”<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA 24
ALABAMA TECHNOLOGY IN MOTION<br />
Robots, Drones and Green Slime<br />
Timothy Johnson enjoyed his frst “aha” teaching moment<br />
even before he began studying education at the University<br />
of South Alabama. As a freshman, he planned to study<br />
psychology, but took a student job as a reading tutor at<br />
Fonde Elementary School in Mobile.<br />
“I was helping struggling readers, and the kids started to<br />
improve, started to enjoy reading,” he said. “I realized it<br />
was about fnding interest. There was this third-grade boy<br />
who liked race cars, sports, anything with action. So I’d<br />
take him to the library, and we’d get one book the teacher<br />
wanted him to read and one book that he could choose. I<br />
realized that if I could fnd interest with students, we could<br />
make progress. That was the moment where I said, ‘OK,<br />
let’s try education.’”<br />
Johnson attended South on a track and feld scholarship<br />
and earned a degree in elementary education. He<br />
began teaching STEM subjects – Science, Technology,<br />
Engineering and Mathematics – at Mobile elementary<br />
schools. Finding student interest in science meant<br />
hands-on learning. Toys and technology. Projects and<br />
experiments. Using everything from robots and fying<br />
drones to 3D printers and Nickelodeon’s green slime.<br />
“I’m competing against computers and video games –<br />
how could I engage them?” Johnson asked. “I thought, I<br />
need to be an innovator for these students.”<br />
Johnson became a laboratory instructor at E.R. Dickson<br />
Elementary School in Mobile. He presented papers<br />
at STEM conferences. He attended a NASA camp in<br />
Huntsville, Alabama, and the Mickelson ExxonMobil<br />
Teachers Academy in Pittsburgh.<br />
Last year, Johnson, 34, became an Alabama Technology<br />
in Motion specialist at the University of South Alabama<br />
College of Education and Professional Studies, serving<br />
students and teachers in 12 school districts. He also began<br />
appearing in a program called “Alabama STEM Explorers”<br />
on Alabama Public Television.<br />
“I still get chills when I see myself on television,” he said. “I<br />
went to Saraland Elementary one time, and this kid said, ‘I<br />
know you! Aren’t you on that TV show on Saturday?’”<br />
MENTORS AND COLLEAGUES<br />
One of Johnson’s mentors was Dr. Carl Cunningham Jr.,<br />
the former head of Multicultural Student Afairs at South,<br />
who is now director of student support services at Coastal<br />
Alabama Community College in Bay Minette, Fairhope<br />
and Gulf Shores. Through a Mobile Kappa League<br />
program, he began advising Johnson when Johnson was a<br />
high school sophomore.<br />
“He’s never been a boisterous guy, but he was always a<br />
detail guy, and he has great follow-through,” Cunningham<br />
said. “At South Alabama, he continued with that. My<br />
advice for him was to stay the course.”<br />
Cunningham was thrilled when Johnson turned to<br />
education – especially elementary education and science<br />
education.<br />
“He saw the need to have more black men in that space,”<br />
Cunningham said. “He saw how successful he could be,<br />
particularly with boys.”<br />
25 PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
Last year, Johnson began work for Technology in Motion,<br />
a STEM program in Alabama public schools, providing<br />
support and training for educators in fve counties.<br />
Johnson works with Nikkesha Hooks, state program<br />
director of Technology in Motion. She appreciates<br />
his experience in STEM, project-based learning and<br />
instructional technology.<br />
“Timothy has been working with local schools to support<br />
technology integration, digital literacy and computer<br />
science,” Hooks said. “Timothy is a successful educator<br />
who is hardworking and dedicated, but most of all enjoys<br />
what he does.”<br />
SPRINTING TO SOUTH<br />
Johnson grew up in Prichard, just north of Mobile, where<br />
his father was a parole ofcer and his mother was a<br />
bookkeeper. His grandmother was a sixth-grade social<br />
studies teacher. He was in her class for one year.<br />
“That was a diferent experience,” he said, laughing. “She’d<br />
say, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll just tell your daddy.’”<br />
When he wasn’t at school, he and his friends rode bikes<br />
and played sports. Anything to stay outside. At LeFlore<br />
Magnet High School in Mobile, Johnson competed in track<br />
and feld. He ran the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes<br />
and the 400-meter relay. He trained for years.<br />
“HE SAW THE NEED TO HAVE MORE<br />
BLACK MEN IN THAT SPACE. HE SAW<br />
HOW SUCCESSFUL HE COULD BE,<br />
PARTICULARLY WITH BOYS.”<br />
“It’s something you have to work on,” he said.<br />
“It’s technique, technique, technique.”<br />
Johnson won a track scholarship to South, where his<br />
coach was Lee Evans, an Olympic gold medalist famous<br />
for giving a Black Power salute at the Mexico City Olympic<br />
Games in 1968. The physical training was difcult. He also<br />
learned from weekly counseling and relaxation sessions.<br />
“It helped us with school, also, just managing stress and<br />
the expectations of others,” he said. “When I frst started<br />
teaching, it was like ‘You need to do this’ and ‘You need to<br />
do that,’ and I was able to walk inside my classroom and<br />
do what I needed to do for my students.”<br />
In 2010, Johnson earned his bachelor’s degree at South<br />
in the College of Education and Professional Studies.<br />
While teaching, he earned a master’s degree. In 2019,<br />
while at Dickson Elementary School in Mobile, Johnson<br />
was named Outstanding Alabama Elementary School<br />
Science Teacher.<br />
He used to keep a journal about what he was doing and<br />
what he needed to do better. He remains a stickler for<br />
lesson plans and lab prep.<br />
“I plan everything out and set everything up for the next<br />
day,” he said. “So I can just walk in and start teaching,<br />
which makes the job a lot easier.”<br />
Each summer, he makes time for camps, seminars and<br />
professional development courses.<br />
“When you’re pouring out information in classes all year,<br />
you need to refll your tank in the summer,” he said. “It<br />
keeps you on your toes, especially in science education.”<br />
In December 2021, Johnson married Celeste Napier,<br />
an adjunct chemistry instructor at South. They met on<br />
campus as undergraduates. Now they’re colleagues.<br />
On one of his jackets, Johnson wears souvenir pins from<br />
NASA and various science camps. A diferent kind of pin<br />
represents Secret Scientist, a clothing brand started by a<br />
friend of his.<br />
In his spare time, he enjoys reading science fction and<br />
anime. He relaxes by fshing with his cellphone turned of.<br />
In Mobile, Johnson sees former students all the time. Some<br />
of them are high school kids ready to become adults. He’s<br />
never been tempted to teach older students.<br />
“It’s easier to talk to kids,” he said. “And I’d rather start with<br />
children than work with them at the end stage of their<br />
education. I feel like the greatest impact I can have is at<br />
the elementary level.”<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA 26
USA LITERACY CENTER<br />
Finding a Love<br />
for Reading<br />
Appie McMurphy is a ffth grader at UMS-Wright<br />
Preparatory School. Thanks to the University of South<br />
Alabama College of Education and Professional Studies<br />
Literacy Center, McMurphy now has the skills and<br />
confdence needed to be successful in her schoolwork.<br />
“I do not like to read, but when I visit Ms. Joan, I enjoy<br />
doing it,” McMurphy said.<br />
Joan Holland, director of the USA Literacy Center, has<br />
more than 30 years of experience in education. Holland<br />
serves as the face of this community engagement<br />
program, which provides local children with tools to<br />
improve reading and writing skills.<br />
Between pre-K and frst grade, McMurphy’s mother,<br />
whose frst name is also Appie, noticed a shift in her<br />
daughter’s literacy skills.<br />
“Ms. Joan was a name I kept hearing in the community,”<br />
McMurphy’s mother said. “She is the biggest blessing that<br />
has fallen into my child's lap.”<br />
McMurphy began her journey with the Literacy Center at<br />
the age of 4. Once teachers suggested additional work in<br />
the summer to prepare her for kindergarten, it was only a<br />
matter of time before Holland and McMurphy established<br />
an unbreakable bond.<br />
McMurphy was struggling with phonemic awareness<br />
(the ability to hear and manipulate individual sounds in<br />
spoken words), working memory and number sense after<br />
switching schools. The foundational work that Holland<br />
“Mrs. Holland has become another fgure<br />
in my child’s life that is supportive, loving,<br />
caring and accountable. It is all the things<br />
needed to boost her confdence.”<br />
focused on improved McMurphy’s ability to speak more<br />
confdently while believing in herself.<br />
“I cannot put into words how much the change was blackand-white,”<br />
McMurphy’s mother said. “It was absolutely<br />
unbelievable.”<br />
In early 2020, McMurphy’s mother felt they needed<br />
to take the next step. They started meeting with<br />
Holland twice a week to work on reading and math<br />
problem-solving skills. There was still what McMurphy's<br />
mother described as a “disconnect” with reading. Prior<br />
to third grade, McMurphy was diagnosed with dyslexia<br />
and dyscalculia. The diagnosis helped clarify her<br />
academic struggles.<br />
“Mrs. Holland has become another fgure in my child’s<br />
life that is supportive, loving, caring and accountable,”<br />
McMurphy’s mother said. “It is all the things needed to<br />
boost her confdence.”<br />
McMurphy’s favorite books are graphic novels such<br />
as “The Baby-Sitters Club” series, “Smile" and "Sisters.”<br />
Holland has helped McMurphy fnd a way to like reading.<br />
She understands McMurphy’s interests and recommends<br />
books based on this knowledge, while incorporating<br />
books of other genres to expand her repertoire of<br />
reading power.<br />
“I really hate reading, but these books make it more<br />
enjoyable,” McMurphy said.<br />
27 PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
READING AND WRITING SUPPORT<br />
for their next big adventure.<br />
Spring Summer Fall/Winter<br />
Monday-Thursday Monday-Thursday Monday-Thursday<br />
3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. 8:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.<br />
Initial Assessment and Orientation Fee: $75.00<br />
One-Hour Academic Instruction: $40.00 per session<br />
Online and in-person sessions available.<br />
jmholland@SouthAlabama.edu | (251) 380-2891<br />
SouthAlabama.edu/Literacy
PA SS A GE US A<br />
INDEPENDENCE<br />
DAYS<br />
After 20 years of living with his<br />
parents, Enrique Lynch left home for<br />
the University of South Alabama’s<br />
PASSAGE USA program, a two- and<br />
four-year non-degree certifcate<br />
program that focuses on life, social,<br />
employment and self-determination<br />
skills for students with intellectual<br />
disabilities. This was Lynch’s chance for<br />
a more independent life.<br />
Now he stays in an apartment just<br />
of campus and rides a city bus<br />
downtown to his job as a banquet<br />
server and houseman at the<br />
Renaissance Mobile Riverview<br />
Plaza Hotel.<br />
Lynch, who’s 22, has a thin mustache<br />
and wispy beard to go along with a<br />
broad smile. When he started going<br />
to classes at South, he wasn’t so<br />
confdent. He didn’t smile so much.<br />
“I was, like, shy,” he said, emphasizing<br />
the word. “I was the shy kid on<br />
campus. I didn’t know who my<br />
teachers were; I didn’t know anybody.<br />
It took a long time to get to my<br />
happy place.”<br />
Now Lynch knows all sorts of people<br />
at South. He rattles of the names of<br />
students and professors in PASSAGE<br />
USA, which stands for Preparing All<br />
Students Socially and Academically<br />
for Gainful Employment. This is<br />
his community.<br />
29<br />
PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
Lynch shares a two-bedroom apartment with a<br />
PASSAGE USA student from Mississippi. He isn’t much<br />
of a cook, but he can make sandwiches and heat up<br />
turkey burgers. He does laundry on weekends.<br />
When he’s not cheering for Jaguar sports teams, he’s<br />
watching movies or playing video games.<br />
His parents, Catrina and Enrique Lynch, are proud their<br />
son can do so much on his own. PASSAGE USA training<br />
helps him navigate daily life.<br />
He often spends holiday weekends back home<br />
in Opelika, Alabama. It’s only a three-hour drive<br />
from Mobile.<br />
“I was very nervous when he started school, but he really<br />
took to it,” said Catrina. “He never said, ‘Come and get<br />
me.’ He never said, ‘I’m ready to come home.’”<br />
“He did call a lot — I will say that,” his father said,<br />
laughing. “That was his homesickness.”<br />
“I WAS THE SHY KID ON CAMPUS.<br />
IT TOOK A LONG TIME TO GET<br />
TO MY HAPPY PLACE.”<br />
Enrique has an Android phone that he uses to call<br />
and text friends and family. It’s good to have for<br />
emergencies and backup plans too.<br />
“If I miss the bus, I can take an Uber,” he said. “I’ve been<br />
doing that for a while now.”<br />
Last year, Lynch and another PASSAGE USA student<br />
worked with an ESPN+ broadcasting crew for South<br />
football games. In the press box at Hancock Whitney<br />
Stadium, one of their jobs was updating frst downs and<br />
yardage on the huge scoreboard.<br />
In the spring, Lynch stayed on to work basketball,<br />
baseball and softball games too.<br />
“Really good kid,” said Pat Greenwood, multimedia<br />
director for the South athletic department. “We had a<br />
good time with him. He was always early and never<br />
missed anything. And he seemed genuinely happy to<br />
be here.”<br />
Even when he’s not working a ballgame, Lynch likes<br />
to wear his South Alabama Athletics press pass<br />
around campus.<br />
Enrique Lynch is pictured above with South cheerleaders and Ms. Pawla at<br />
a fre safety training and cookout hosted by USA Facilities Management.<br />
Most days, he sports a polo shirt and long pants over<br />
his Air Jordan sneakers. When he’s not working, he<br />
stays close to home. His PASSAGE USA classes are at<br />
University Commons, near University Boulevard and Old<br />
Shell Road.<br />
PASSAGE USA students attend specialized classes that<br />
target the skills they need to achieve their goals. They<br />
also attend inclusive courses across campus in a variety<br />
of subjects.<br />
In 2020, the USA College of Education and Professional<br />
Studies was awarded a $2.3 million U.S. Department of<br />
Education grant to expand the program, which draws<br />
in faculty and South students from counseling, health<br />
and kinesiology, and occupational therapy to enhance<br />
the program’s curriculum. PASSAGE USA continues<br />
to grow and can serve up to 60 students during the<br />
current grant funding period.<br />
Next to the Mellow Mushroom pizzeria is Lynch’s city<br />
bus stop. He catches a No. 4 Wave bus to his downtown<br />
job at the Riverview Plaza Hotel. This summer, he<br />
worked Mondays through Thursdays for an average of<br />
15 to 20 hours a week.<br />
Lynch sweeps foors sometimes, but spends most of his<br />
shifts with a team of co-workers preparing for events.<br />
It’s a job — a paying job that helps him lead his own life.<br />
This is what PASSAGE USA is all about.<br />
David Clarke, CEO of the Visit Mobile tourism and<br />
convention organization, is one of many supporters of<br />
the program downtown.<br />
“PASSAGE USA is helping our hospitality community, and<br />
our hospitality community is helping PASSAGE USA,”<br />
Clarke said. “It’s a great partnership. Great stuf.”<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA 30
ACADEMICS | DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION<br />
Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion<br />
Dr. Joél Billingsley, vice president for<br />
diversity and community engagement at<br />
South and former professor in the College<br />
of Education and Professional Studies,<br />
gives a speech at graduation<br />
PowerSchool Grant<br />
The College of Education and<br />
Professional Studies received<br />
an $80,000 donation from<br />
PowerSchool, a provider of<br />
cloud-based software for K-12<br />
education, to help students in<br />
teacher preparation programs<br />
pass the Praxis teacher<br />
preparation test. The donation<br />
will be distributed to students<br />
who demonstrate fnancial need<br />
and will assist students with<br />
preparation for the Praxis test,<br />
which is required of all students<br />
entering a teacher preparation<br />
program or seeking teacher<br />
certifcation. The funding will<br />
also cover the cost of Praxis<br />
preparation materials. The<br />
college piloted the program<br />
for a small number of teacher<br />
education students in spring<br />
<strong>2022</strong>. The program will expand<br />
in the <strong>2022</strong>-2023 academic year.<br />
Black Faculty and Staf<br />
Association Summit<br />
The Black Faculty and Staf<br />
Association, including College<br />
of Education and Professional<br />
Studies faculty members Dr.<br />
Joél Billingsley and Dr. Benterah<br />
Morton, hosted an inaugural<br />
Education Summit on Retention<br />
for underrepresented students<br />
enrolled at the University. The<br />
event was attended by more<br />
than 70 students focusing<br />
on promoting academic and<br />
professional networking for<br />
students from underrepresented<br />
groups, particularly African<br />
American students. The College<br />
of Education and Professional<br />
Studies provided fnancial<br />
support for the event alongside<br />
other colleges and will continue<br />
to support follow-up events in<br />
the <strong>2022</strong>-2023 academic year.<br />
College Diversity and<br />
Hiring<br />
During the 2021-<strong>2022</strong> academic<br />
year, the College of Education<br />
and Professional Studies hired<br />
two new faculty members,<br />
both of whom identify as<br />
members of racially and<br />
ethnically underrepresented<br />
groups. All searches have<br />
included advertising faculty<br />
positions in outlets focusing<br />
on professionals from<br />
underrepresented groups as<br />
well as sending invitation letters<br />
to academic departments in<br />
minority-serving institutions<br />
that grant doctoral degrees and<br />
ft the hiring area. Invitation<br />
emails also are sent to current<br />
faculty from underrepresented<br />
groups at other institutions<br />
when searches target midcareer/<br />
senior faculty.<br />
College DEI SWOT<br />
Analysis<br />
The College of Education<br />
and Professional Studies<br />
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion<br />
Coordinator Dr. Trés Stefurak,<br />
in collaboration with the<br />
DEI Council, conducted an<br />
anonymous survey of college<br />
faculty and staf to gauge<br />
perceptions of the college's<br />
strengths, weaknesses,<br />
opportunities and threats in<br />
DEI practices. Results were<br />
shared with the USA DEI Ofce<br />
and CEPS faculty and staf.<br />
Results demonstrated a strong<br />
consensus among CEPS faculty<br />
that gathering data related to<br />
the needs of underrepresented<br />
students and making<br />
programmatic changes using<br />
such data to improve outcomes<br />
for such students are valued<br />
commitments within the college,<br />
though much work remains to<br />
fully realize these goals in the<br />
college. Areas in which faculty<br />
believed the college is making<br />
the most strides included<br />
building a welcoming and<br />
inclusive college culture and<br />
evaluating students equitably<br />
and fairly. Areas in which<br />
faculty believed the college<br />
should invest continued eforts<br />
included engaging students in<br />
organizational decision-making<br />
and recruiting more diverse<br />
faculty, staf and students.<br />
'What's Trending'<br />
College of Education and<br />
Professional Studies faculty,<br />
staf and students were<br />
invited to attend the following<br />
“What’s Trending” sessions. “A<br />
Conversation About Critical<br />
Race Theory” was held Nov.<br />
2, 2021. This discussion<br />
ofered an opportunity<br />
to review components of<br />
proposed Alabama legislation.<br />
Dr. Benterah Morton and<br />
Dr. Matt Hensley led the<br />
discussion. Morton shared<br />
information pertinent to school<br />
administrators, and Hensley<br />
shared information pertinent<br />
to social studies educators.<br />
“The Teacher Shortage” was<br />
held Feb. 9, <strong>2022</strong>, to discuss<br />
the nationwide teacher<br />
shortage and the impact on<br />
teacher diversity. The featured<br />
speaker was David Dai, a math<br />
teacher at Barton Academy<br />
for Advanced World Studies<br />
in Mobile. Dai was the 2020<br />
Alabama Alternate Teacher of<br />
the Year.<br />
31 PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
A podcast by the University of South Alabama<br />
College of Education and Professional Studies<br />
Meaningful conversations with faculty, students,<br />
alumni and community partners<br />
EDUCATION | LEADERSHIP | FUN | WELLNESS<br />
Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and all other major podcast platforms.<br />
Submit ideas to sincerelysouth@SouthAlabama.edu<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA 32
Making<br />
the<br />
Grade<br />
33 PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
Even in kindergarten, Dr. Andi Kent knew she wanted to<br />
become a schoolteacher.<br />
“From K through sixth grade, I never missed a day of<br />
school,” she said. “I was one of those students who loved<br />
going to school. I remember all of my teachers. ”<br />
Kent grew up in Tillmans Corner, southwest of Mobile,<br />
where her father owned an auto supply store and put in<br />
long hours to make sure the family always had more than<br />
they needed. She and her brother and sister helped sort<br />
invoices on the living room foor. Cloverleaf Auto Supply<br />
was a family business.<br />
Education was important to her family, though neither<br />
of her parents earned a four-year college degree. Her<br />
mother was a licensed practical nurse who found her true<br />
calling in raising her children and supporting the family.<br />
“My frst-grade teacher, Jackie Brunson, often told a story<br />
about me saying I was going to get a Ph.D.,” she said. “Just<br />
like my Uncle Doyle.”<br />
Kent did become a schoolteacher, and she did earn a<br />
master’s degree in early childhood education and a<br />
Ph.D. in instructional design and development from the<br />
University of South Alabama. Her goal was to work in<br />
curriculum and instruction at the central ofce for the<br />
Mobile County Public School System.<br />
She never planned a career at South, but mentors<br />
convinced her otherwise.<br />
“I was working really hard to make an impact in the lives<br />
of children, and I wasn’t sure I could make that kind of<br />
impact in higher ed, because I’d be further removed from<br />
them,” Kent said. “At some point, I realized that, perhaps,<br />
the impact could be exponential. If you’re teaching future<br />
teachers, and they’re going back to teach their students,<br />
then you’re able to reach more people.”<br />
In the College of Education and Professional Studies, Kent<br />
rose from assistant professor and director of feld services<br />
to professor and then associate dean. In 2015, when the<br />
dean of education retired, she was asked to serve as<br />
interim dean and encouraged by many to apply for the<br />
position. A few months later, she was named dean.<br />
Five years later, the same thing happened.<br />
The University needed a new provost and senior vice<br />
president for academic afairs. President Tony Waldrop<br />
made a surprise visit to Kent’s ofce and asked her to<br />
serve as an interim administrator. She told Waldrop that<br />
others were more suited. Waldrop was insistent, though,<br />
so Kent took on the challenge.<br />
“If you’re teaching future<br />
teachers, and they’re going<br />
back to teach their students,<br />
then you’re able to reach<br />
more people.”<br />
In spring <strong>2022</strong>, after Jo Bonner became the fourth<br />
president of the University of South Alabama, he initiated<br />
a national search for the provost position. Following that,<br />
he appointed Kent as provost and decided to combine<br />
the role with that of the executive vice president. As a<br />
nontraditional college president, the former congressman<br />
has relied on her academic background and institutional<br />
knowledge of South.<br />
On a listening tour of meetings with students, faculty and<br />
community leaders, Bonner liked to joke that Kent was<br />
coaching him through questions and grading his answers.<br />
“I still haven’t gotten my report card from her, but her<br />
role has been incredibly valuable in our getting of to a<br />
strong start,” he said. “Dr. Kent commands respect and is<br />
admired for her work on campus and in Mobile. She’s an<br />
optimist. She’s dedicated to the core. And she’s tireless.”<br />
Both of them put in long hours designing and<br />
implementing strategic initiatives in an efort to expand<br />
the reach of the University.<br />
“Often, my frst email of the day is from Andi, around 5<br />
a.m., and my last email of the day is from Andi, about 11<br />
p.m.,” Bonner said. “I realized on day one that no one was<br />
going to put more into their job than Andi Kent. That was<br />
obvious.”<br />
MEETINGS, EMAILS AND EXERCISE<br />
Kent – her name is Andrea, but she’s always been Andi –<br />
describes herself as family-focused.<br />
After dorm life and living with friends during her frst<br />
years as an undergraduate student, she lived at home<br />
with her parents until she married Derek Kent, her high<br />
school sweetheart. Derek is a South graduate and nurse<br />
manager in surgical services at USA Health Children’s &<br />
Women’s Hospital. They have a son and a daughter.<br />
The Kents live in West Mobile. They enjoy visiting Orange<br />
Beach and taking sea cruises. In town, they share casual<br />
meals at various restaurants.<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA 34
“My favorite food is Mexican,” Andi said. “I would eat it<br />
every day of the week if I could.”<br />
On most days, she rises at 4:45 a.m. to exercise on an<br />
elliptical trainer. In the Whiddon Administration Building,<br />
back-to-back meetings often fll her day. In the evenings,<br />
she’s usually going through more than 100 emails.<br />
“I’m not a great sleeper,” she said. “The nights are often<br />
flled with thinking about how to best embrace the many<br />
opportunities in front of us.”<br />
Kent makes time in her demanding work/life routine for<br />
volleyball games at Baker High School. Her daughter,<br />
Mary Elizabeth, plays on the junior varsity team. Mom<br />
roots for the Lady Hornets.<br />
“I try not to embarrass her,” she said, laughing. “That’s my<br />
goal. But I do cheer her on.”<br />
Her son, Andrew, is a freshman at the University of South<br />
Alabama, and is loving being a Jaguar.<br />
“We looked at eight diferent universities,” she said. “I was<br />
elated that he chose South.”<br />
MENTORS AND COLLEAGUES<br />
When Kent attended Theodore High School, she was<br />
elected president of her class. Principal Richard Davis<br />
became one of her frst mentors.<br />
“He was defnitely my second dad,” she said. “He valued<br />
and respected my opinion. To this day, he calls me<br />
‘Madam President.’”<br />
After earning a bachelor’s degree in education from the<br />
University of Mobile, Kent began teaching and working on<br />
her master’s degree at South.<br />
Her frst permanent teaching position was at Burroughs<br />
Elementary School in Theodore. She was 22 years old.<br />
Dr. William Foster, who later became a member of the<br />
Mobile County Board of School Commissioners, was her<br />
frst principal.<br />
Kent made an impression.<br />
“You kind of see things in people,” Foster said.<br />
“You know they’re going to be successful. She was on<br />
top of everything, extremely well organized. And she<br />
was a sponge. If somebody told her something, she’d take<br />
it all in. She was one of those people. And I followed her<br />
career over the years.<br />
“She doesn’t have to be<br />
the center of attention.<br />
She doesn’t have to control<br />
every situation. But with<br />
that said, she’s never afraid<br />
to say what she’s thinking.”<br />
“If she has a job to do, somebody’s going to notice, and<br />
that leads to the next job. Andi’s really good with people,<br />
and she’s really good in groups, and not everybody is.”<br />
Kent became one of many Mobile educators who taught<br />
during the day and worked on their graduate degrees<br />
in the evening. It meant years of sacrifce for her entire<br />
family. And a grueling schedule.<br />
“I can remember teaching and then staying after school to<br />
5:30, preparing for the next day, and then going to class<br />
at 6 at South. Classes took a lot of time. The Instructional<br />
Design and Development graduate program required<br />
several statistics courses, which were not my forte, so I<br />
studied 24/7. If I was going to do it, I was going to do it<br />
right. And I worked alongside fabulous educators and<br />
made great friends, lifetime friends. If I had to redo it, I<br />
would do it exactly the same way.”<br />
This kind of experience helped prepare Kent for career<br />
building as a faculty member and administrator at South.<br />
As a professor, she was a recognized scholar with dozens<br />
of publications and hundreds of scholarly presentations,<br />
and she has authored and edited multiple books. She<br />
directed student research and secured nearly $7 million<br />
in external research funding. During her tenure in the<br />
College of Education and Professional Studies, she served<br />
in many administrative roles, while also teaching and<br />
mentoring undergraduate and graduate students.<br />
As provost, Kent supported creation of the School of<br />
Marine and Environmental Sciences. She implemented<br />
the Start South dual enrollment program for high school<br />
students. She supported the growth of research in health<br />
sciences, engineering and business.<br />
Dr. Paige Vitulli, chair of the Department of Integrative<br />
Studies, watched Kent rise through the College of<br />
Education and Professional Studies into University<br />
administration.<br />
35 PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
Dr. Andi Kent is pictured with her husband,<br />
Derek, and their two children, Andrew and<br />
Mary Elizabeth. Andrew is a current student<br />
at South majoring in exercise science.<br />
“I wasn’t surprised,” Vitulli said.<br />
“She always had the determination,<br />
the work ethic, the drive. She also<br />
had the right temperament. Her<br />
ability to listen and keep her cool<br />
has always impressed me. She<br />
doesn’t have to be the center of<br />
attention. She doesn’t have to control<br />
every situation. But with that said,<br />
she’s never afraid to say what she’s<br />
thinking.”<br />
For Kent, Bonner’s listening tour of<br />
South was an opportunity to reconnect<br />
with her constituencies.<br />
“Visiting all of the areas on campus<br />
and at USA Health with President<br />
Bonner provided me the opportunity<br />
to further develop a shared vision<br />
for where the University is going,” she<br />
said. “Each visit was valuable and<br />
reminded me of what makes South<br />
so special — the people.”<br />
Kent hasn’t lost any of her enthusiasm<br />
for teaching, coaching or recruiting.<br />
The goal of improving education<br />
remains the same, whether she’s<br />
teaching third graders, encouraging<br />
elementary-school reading<br />
teachers or recruiting postdoctorate<br />
researchers. She is driven by a desire<br />
to make a diference.<br />
She’s never been tempted to leave<br />
South, her graduate alma mater,<br />
and says that she is honored to<br />
serve. As she looks to the future, she<br />
is excited about the direction the<br />
University is headed.<br />
“Working alongside President Bonner<br />
and incredible people at South,” Kent<br />
said, “we are committed to making<br />
a bigger impact than ever before,<br />
embracing the opportunities to make<br />
a diference.<br />
"I love it here,” she said. “I love the<br />
mission. I love the people. I love the<br />
University.”<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA 36
ACADEMICS | COUNSELING AND INSTRUCTIONAL SCIENCES<br />
Meet Amazon’s<br />
Senior Learning<br />
Program Evaluator<br />
Dr. Jessica Bauer, a senior learning program evaluator<br />
at Amazon, grew up in small-town Snelling, California.<br />
She earned bachelor's and master’s degrees in social<br />
psychology from California State University, Stanislaus.<br />
Bauer wanted to start her career in corporate training<br />
evaluation at a major company in Silicon Valley.<br />
Unfortunately, the fnancial crisis of 2007 put a stop to<br />
her plans.<br />
For several years, Bauer taught undergraduate classes<br />
in psychology, human sexuality and behavioral statistics<br />
at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento and Modesto<br />
Junior College in Modesto, both in California. Her<br />
consulting business, Jessica Harlan Consulting, provided<br />
instructional design, program evaluation and program<br />
development services. Key clients were the University<br />
of California, Irvine; the University of California San<br />
Diego; the University of California Ofce of the President;<br />
University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources;<br />
Thinc Design in New York; the Smithsonian Institution;<br />
Mobile Baykeeper in Mobile; and the College Brain Trust<br />
(now the Collaborative Brain Trust) in Sacramento.<br />
Bauer then decided to push herself to the next level<br />
and returned to her studies. She was very interested in<br />
the corporate training feld and researched doctoral<br />
possibilities. She discovered the University of South<br />
Alabama's Instructional Design and Development Ph.D.<br />
program.<br />
“I had already gone beyond what I thought was possible for<br />
me, but the program and opportunity were there,” Bauer<br />
said.<br />
At South, Bauer served as a graduate research assistant<br />
and worked with Dr. James Van Haneghan, now the interim<br />
chair for the Department of Counseling and Instructional<br />
Sciences. Bauer assisted in research as part of a National<br />
Science Foundation grant under Van Haneghan's direction.<br />
She earned a doctoral degree from South in 2016.<br />
“I walked out of my Ph.D. program with a better ability to<br />
have rigorous academic and research scafolding to bring<br />
to the table,” Bauer said. “That’s fundamentally because<br />
of Jim’s mentorship and willingness to provide the right<br />
balance of autonomy and coaching.”<br />
Bauer knew she would not stay in Alabama long.<br />
She completed a graduate internship at the Smithsonian<br />
Institution’s Ofce of Policy and Analysis (now Smithsonian<br />
Organization and Audience Research) in Washington<br />
and accepted a position as senior program evaluation<br />
specialist at the Johns Hopkins University School of<br />
Medicine in Baltimore.<br />
After working at Hopkins for nearly four years, Bauer<br />
decided she needed more opportunity for growth. As<br />
senior research consultant at Gallup in Washington and<br />
then director of assessment, evaluation and educational<br />
scholarship at the University of Virginia School of<br />
Medicine’s Inova campus, Bauer gained invaluable<br />
experience.<br />
At Inova, Bauer thought she was fnally where she was<br />
meant to be. However, an Amazon recruiter reached out<br />
and presented a compelling opportunity.<br />
“THEY WERE LOOKING FOR A<br />
UNICORN, AND I WAS THE UNICORN”<br />
“They were looking for a unicorn, and I was the unicorn,”<br />
Bauer said. ”Amazon’s evaluation program has the<br />
funding and ability to achieve limitless possibilities in<br />
understanding adult learning and development.”<br />
In April <strong>2022</strong>, Bauer began work in Arlington, Virginia,<br />
with the Learning Science and Engineering team within<br />
Amazon's Global Learning and Development organization.<br />
Her team includes machine-learning scientists,<br />
instructional designers and other research scientists.<br />
Bauer works with Amazon to evaluate workplace learning<br />
programs and their impact on business outcomes.<br />
“The Learning Science and Engineering organization’s<br />
vision is to reinvent workplace learning by building the<br />
programs, products, technologies and mechanisms that<br />
make teaching and learning fast, efective and scalable for<br />
Amazon employees,” Bauer said.<br />
Within her department, Bauer most recently worked with<br />
an instructional designer to build an online course to<br />
serve as a workplace guide for creating an inclusive and<br />
accessible learning experience. She and her associate will<br />
identify which employees need to take the course. then<br />
determine if the course was impactful. They will use the<br />
data they gather to improve the course if necessary.<br />
37 PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
“I THINK IT’S REALLY<br />
DELIGHTFUL TO SEE<br />
THAT IT’S NOT JUST<br />
A NUMBERS GAME.”<br />
Bauer works with Amazon customers<br />
to ensure that each stage of their<br />
own training programs furthers<br />
business success. That includes<br />
determining whether the programs<br />
positively infuence the trainees.<br />
The goal is to produce greater<br />
productivity and diligence through<br />
employee growth, thus improving<br />
outcomes for everyone involved.<br />
“There really is an emphasis on the<br />
voice of the customer and the voice<br />
of the employee,” Bauer said. “I think<br />
it’s really delightful to see that it’s not<br />
just a numbers game.”<br />
Bauer’s job also involves global<br />
interviewing and qualitative<br />
research. She’s collaborated, using<br />
rigorous methodologies, with other<br />
researchers from various parts of<br />
the world. Bauer and her associates<br />
use the gold standard of qualitative<br />
research — interviews and focus<br />
groups. That allows individuals'<br />
voices to be acknowledged, even in<br />
a company as large as Amazon.<br />
“I’m working on actual program<br />
evaluation that has real-world<br />
consequences.”<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA 38
‘How Do<br />
We Make<br />
Vaccines<br />
Manly?’<br />
Dr. Ryon McDermott, an associate<br />
professor of clinical and counseling<br />
psychology who studies men and<br />
ideas of masculinity, is leading<br />
a national research project that<br />
examines how men think, feel and<br />
act regarding COVID-19 vaccines.<br />
The $250,000 research project,<br />
funded by the Centers for Disease<br />
Control and Prevention and the<br />
American Psychological Association,<br />
includes faculty at Texas Tech<br />
University and the University of Akron,<br />
along with doctoral students at the<br />
University of South Alabama. The<br />
yearlong study begins with online<br />
questionnaires completed by 1,000<br />
men across the country over a<br />
period of six months, followed by<br />
focus group interviews in Ohio, Texas<br />
and Alabama.<br />
McDermott said traditional ideas of<br />
masculinity, including reluctance to<br />
show fear, sadness or vulnerability,<br />
have been linked with unwillingness<br />
to adhere to CDC-recommended<br />
behavior such as mask wearing and<br />
social distancing. Men in the United<br />
States are less likely to be vaccinated<br />
against COVID-19 than women. Rigid<br />
gender roles, along with identity<br />
variables such as race, politics and<br />
religion, may help explain vaccine<br />
reluctance and inform architects of<br />
public health initiatives to increase<br />
male vaccinations.<br />
“A big part of what I do is looking<br />
at how people violate gender roles,<br />
how they change their beliefs and<br />
how we measure those experiences,”<br />
said McDermott, associate director<br />
of clinical training in the clinical<br />
and counseling psychology Ph.D.<br />
program at South.<br />
Much of McDermott’s research<br />
revolves around the concept of<br />
traditional masculinity. “We focus on<br />
the concept of traditional masculinity<br />
ideology rather than ‘toxic<br />
masculinity.’ Traditional masculinity<br />
is more descriptive, because<br />
something that is toxic is bad for<br />
you at every level. However, beliefs<br />
that men should be unemotional,<br />
powerful, tough or dominant, those<br />
are traditional perspectives about<br />
men that can be helpful in certain<br />
circumstances but can also be very<br />
restrictive if you buy into them in a<br />
rigid fashion.<br />
“What we fnd is that men who<br />
endorse these beliefs are much less<br />
likely to engage in proactive health<br />
behaviors, like getting a vaccine,<br />
because it’s somehow seen as being<br />
feminine, or being weak. We also<br />
know there are pretty good ways of<br />
marketing to men, so the question<br />
becomes, ‘How do we make<br />
vaccines manly?’”<br />
39 PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
“WHAT WE FIND IS THAT MEN WHO<br />
ENDORSE THESE BELIEFS ARE<br />
MUCH LESS LIKELY TO ENGAGE IN<br />
PROACTIVE HEALTH BEHAVIORS.”<br />
“It’s one of South’s gems,” he said. “It’s very competitive,<br />
very sought after. Most programs do clinical or counseling,<br />
so the fact that it’s combined helps make it special.”<br />
Contributing to the CDC study at South are doctoral<br />
students Jennifer Barinas and Kyle Brasil. Their work has<br />
been published in journals such as Psychology of Men &<br />
Masculinities and Journal of Health Psychology.<br />
Vaccine hesitancy varies around the country and has<br />
varied over time, but is more common in certain groups.<br />
“Where we see a lot of unvaccinated men is in white,<br />
evangelical and conservative populations,” McDermott<br />
said. “Those are the three things that our research so far<br />
has shown to be important predictors. But even within<br />
that group there is variability. Some people who are<br />
evangelical and conservative are getting vaccinated. Our<br />
grant will help us understand what factors helped get<br />
those men vaccinated.”<br />
A co-principal investigator for the CDC study is Dr. Ronald<br />
Levant, a professor emeritus at the University of Akron<br />
and a former president of the American Psychological<br />
Association. His 1995 book, “A New Psychology of Men,”<br />
questioned models of masculinity and infuenced a<br />
generation of researchers. McDermott has published<br />
extensively with Levant in academic journals over the last<br />
15 years.<br />
Dr. Nicholas Borgogna, an assistant professor at Texas<br />
Tech University, is a co-investigator for the CDC study. He<br />
earned his Ph.D. from South last year and didn’t hesitate<br />
to collaborate again with McDermott.<br />
“In terms of how men think and how men behave, he’s<br />
defnitely a leader, an authority in the feld,” Borgogna<br />
said of McDermott. “In 2016, he won Researcher of the<br />
Year from the APA for his work in men and masculinity.<br />
And he’s published a lot of journal articles since then.”<br />
Borgogna studied psychology in Utah and Illinois before<br />
spending four years in Mobile. The doctoral program in<br />
clinical and counseling psychology draws students from<br />
across the country.<br />
McDermott, who joined the South faculty in 2013, divides<br />
most of his time between counseling and research.<br />
“I’m a scientist practitioner, so I was trained to incorporate<br />
both,” he said. “My research informs my practice, and my<br />
practice informs my research. I’ve been working with men<br />
for many years. Soon I’ll start working as a consultant at<br />
VRR, Veterans Recovery Resources. College student wellbeing<br />
is another passion of mine, because I worked at<br />
college counseling centers for a number of years.”<br />
McDermott has been involved with Jag Success, an<br />
academic resource for students that includes peer<br />
mentoring, homework help and learning workshops.<br />
He has also contributed to a variety of campus-wide<br />
assessments tracking student psychological, social and<br />
academic well-being. He received a $25,000 internal<br />
grant and has been a co-investigator on nearly $1 million<br />
of projects funded by the National Science Foundation.<br />
In August <strong>2022</strong>, McDermott became president of the<br />
APA’s Society for the Psychological Study of Men and<br />
Masculinities. His research has focused on culture,<br />
individual diferences and ideologies.<br />
“I’m a big fan of what’s called positive psychology,<br />
a movement that started in the ’90s, where we focus<br />
on what’s right with people,” he said. “What we fnd is<br />
really fascinating. For most people, what’s right with<br />
them far outnumbers what’s wrong with them. An<br />
emerging area of research is connecting these positive<br />
psychology factors to men’s issues. Our research team<br />
is one of the few in the country actively studying positive<br />
psychology in men.”<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA 40
HEALTH, KINE SIOLOGY, AND SPOR T<br />
TWO-IN-ONE<br />
DREAM<br />
COME TRUE<br />
WWhen Mi’Asia Barclay accepted a health coordinator job<br />
with the Morehouse School of Medicine, the city of Atlanta<br />
loomed large in her imagination.<br />
Now she has an ofce on the 15 th foor. Her view includes<br />
a slice of the Atlanta skyline.<br />
“Atlanta is very diferent from Alabama,” Barclay said.<br />
“Very diferent, very fast, the way they drive and the way<br />
they live. But so far, nothing crazy has happened.<br />
“I can actually see the Coca-Cola factory from my window.<br />
That’s amazing, going from seeing crawfsh and Airport<br />
Boulevard in Mobile.”<br />
Barclay, 24, earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise<br />
science from the University of South Alabama in 2020.<br />
She earned a master’s degree in health promotion in<br />
spring <strong>2022</strong>. For her graduate assistantship, she worked in<br />
community engagement for the Ofce of Diversity, Equity<br />
and Inclusion.<br />
At Morehouse, she uses all of her training and experience.<br />
She’s a health coordinator for family medicine in the<br />
Innovation Learning Laboratory for Population Health at<br />
the School of Medicine. At health fairs and community<br />
events, she promotes a healthy diet and exercise,<br />
along with vaccines and booster shots, for people in<br />
underserved communities.<br />
“Being in a place where I can connect people with<br />
resources, where people can better themselves, it makes<br />
“BEING IN A PLACE WHERE I<br />
CAN CONNECT PEOPLE WITH<br />
RESOURCES, WHERE PEOPLE CAN<br />
BETTER THEMSELVES, IT MAKES ME<br />
FEEL LIKE I’M DOING SOMETHING.”<br />
me feel like I’m doing something,” she said. “The health<br />
aspect of being a coordinator, that’s like a two-in-one<br />
dream come true.”<br />
The School of Medicine was originally part of Morehouse<br />
College, a historically black college for men. It became<br />
independent in 1981. That was a relief for Barclay, who<br />
wasn’t sure what to expect.<br />
“I was thinking, am I going to be the only woman at an<br />
all-male school?” she said, laughing. “But the School of<br />
Medicine accepts women and men.”<br />
From Mobile to Morehouse<br />
Barclay is from Talladega, Alabama, but her family<br />
moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, when she was in high<br />
school. Her mother works on the assembly line at the<br />
huge Mercedes-Benz plant nearby. She had some advice<br />
about starting a career for the frst college graduate in<br />
her family.<br />
41 PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
“‘Go to work early,’” Barclay said. “‘Work hard. Do what<br />
you have to do.’”<br />
After high school, she chose South for its health and<br />
medical programs, along with its location near the<br />
beach. She became community involvement chair for<br />
the Minority Association of Premedical Students. She<br />
did undergraduate research for Dr. Caitlyn Hauf in<br />
the Department of Health, Kinesiology and Sport on<br />
awareness of obesity bias in clinical practice.<br />
Barclay was a regular at the Student Recreation Center,<br />
where she played sports and enjoyed the swimming pools.<br />
She worked student jobs and lived on campus during her<br />
frst two years.<br />
With the Ofce of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Barclay<br />
promoted events such as Unity Day and Belonging Rocks!<br />
She also worked with agencies such as the United Way of<br />
Southwest Alabama and Victory Health Partners through<br />
a program called Semester of Service.<br />
“That was basically us working with community partners<br />
to get South Alabama students back into face-to-face<br />
volunteerism,” she said. “That was one of the biggest<br />
coordination projects I had to complete.”<br />
The Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. was a big part of her<br />
college experience at South<br />
“I was able to get myself involved with a lot of volunteer<br />
work,” she said. “I was treasurer for two years, and I<br />
served on a lot of committees. Those kinds of coordination<br />
things helped me get where I am today.”<br />
Starting a Career<br />
In Atlanta, Barclay found an apartment in the suburban<br />
city of Smyrna. Her commute is a half-hour or an hour,<br />
depending on trafc. On some days at the School<br />
of Medicine, she wears an AKA polo shirt to work. It’s<br />
business casual. Often she has lunch at her desk.<br />
At weekend events, she talks to people about getting<br />
enough exercise and fnding fresh food, even if there’s not<br />
a nearby market. She urges residents to vaccinate and<br />
protect themselves from COVID-19 variants.<br />
Barclay says she’s grateful to have a job that feels like<br />
such a good match. She hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in health<br />
administration one day.<br />
“They focus a lot on professional development here,” she<br />
said. “Their goal is to help me progress into what I want to<br />
do long term.”<br />
Research in Alzheimer’s Disease<br />
and Related Dementias<br />
Dr. Joshua Keller is an active researcher and accomplished assistant<br />
professor of exercise science in the Department of Health, Kinesiology,<br />
and Sport at the University of South Alabama. Keller was recently<br />
accepted to the Butler-Williams Scholars Program and the Institute<br />
on Methods and Protocols for Advancement of Clinical Trials<br />
(IMPACT) in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias.<br />
The scholars program is a very competitive training program that<br />
provides special opportunities for junior faculty who are new to the<br />
feld of aging. It's operated by the National Institute on Aging. The<br />
IMPACT program provides researchers with fully funded travel to<br />
train for a week at the University of Southern California’s prestigious<br />
Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute in San Diego. Keller was<br />
accepted to participate in a fellowship track that focuses on training<br />
individuals to make essential choices related to protocols.<br />
“I am incredibly grateful and eager to learn from both of these<br />
opportunities in order to secure federal funding to assist in<br />
improving the health of our surrounding communities,” Keller said.<br />
During his time at South, Keller has worked closely with Dr. Amy<br />
Nelson in the Department of Physiology and Cell Biology and other<br />
researchers to examine underlying mechanisms associated with<br />
Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.<br />
The team aims to create a treatment that will prevent or delay the<br />
onset of neurodegeneration – progressive damage to the brain. With<br />
internal funding from the USA Research and Scholarly Development<br />
Grant Program, Keller and his team were able to begin data collection<br />
relevant to the study from midlife adults in the community.<br />
A recent graduate of the exercise science program, Miranda<br />
Traylor, joined the team while earning her master’s degree. With the<br />
knowledge Traylor brought to the table, Keller and his team were able<br />
to display data that suggested brain-derived neurotrophic factor,<br />
a popular cognitive biomarker to assess following exercise, was<br />
associated with complex attention and processing speed in the study<br />
participants.<br />
Keller and Nelson are preparing their next manuscript on research<br />
that will identify relevant biomarker diferences among races/<br />
ethnicities. Both hope to have their work submitted to an Alzheimer’s<br />
Association-linked academic journal. Keller and his team are also<br />
working on leveraging their momentum to generate funding for<br />
large-scale clinical trials here in the Gulf Coast region.<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALAB AMA 42
HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT<br />
BUILDING<br />
CONNECTIONS<br />
C<br />
Camille Bonura serves as the Student Government<br />
Association president at the University of South Alabama,<br />
and her passion for hospitality has helped her get to where<br />
she is today.<br />
Originally from Enterprise, Alabama, Bonura chose South<br />
because her parents are alumni of the University and<br />
she was excited about the quality of the undergraduate<br />
program in hospitality and tourism management. As<br />
a student at Enterprise High School, Bonura served in<br />
several leadership roles, including captain of the dance<br />
team, historian and reporter for Future Business Leaders of<br />
America, and member of the National Honor Society.<br />
Bonura is pursuing a major in hospitality and tourism<br />
management and a double minor in sport management<br />
and general business. She has held multiple positions in the<br />
SGA leading up to her presidency. She served as senator<br />
for the College of Education and Professional Studies,<br />
committee chair for Homecoming and director of athletic<br />
relations.<br />
Bonura said she decided to run for president because she<br />
wanted to give back to the student body. Her main goal is<br />
to show other organizations how the SGA can help them<br />
be successful. She believes the SGA offers many benefits<br />
to students and wants students to know that the SGA<br />
advocates for them.<br />
“I love being around people.<br />
I love talking to people, learning<br />
about them and learning where<br />
they come from.”<br />
“I’m really excited about getting the entire campus involved<br />
with the Student Government Association, so they don’t<br />
just know us as another organization on campus and they<br />
actually understand what SGA means to them and the<br />
student body,” Bonura said.<br />
Bonura’s major has taught her how to connect with people<br />
in meaningful ways.<br />
“I think it’s really helped just making connections and being<br />
a people person,” she said. “I love being around people. I<br />
love talking to people, learning about them and learning<br />
where they come from. I’ve built even more connections by<br />
attending the department’s networking events.”<br />
Bonura is thankful for many opportunities she’s had to make<br />
close connections with faculty and the community.<br />
43<br />
PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
“I’m just super excited to<br />
show that women can excel<br />
in the sports industry.”<br />
“I’m close friends with both of my professors, and they’ve<br />
helped me get diferent jobs and opportunities,” she said.<br />
“They really hand-pick what jobs and internships they give<br />
their students. I like that the classes aren’t very big, and<br />
there are only two professors, so you really get to know<br />
and have a connection with your professors to get you<br />
through college. They really help you be successful.”<br />
Bonura has completed several internships. She currently<br />
works as an intern for operations and recruiting with<br />
South’s football team. She previously worked for the<br />
Athletic Department in facilities and operations for all<br />
sports on campus.<br />
She has always been interested in sports event planning<br />
and has found her passion in athletics management and<br />
operations. After graduation, she plans to continue her<br />
career in the sports industry. Bonura hopes to work in<br />
operations and would like to be in the front ofce of a<br />
National Football League team or part of a college-level<br />
sports conference.<br />
“I’ve seen so many diferent aspects of the sports industry<br />
by working for facilities and operations and now just in<br />
operations and recruiting,” she said. “I have a special place<br />
in my heart for it. Women in sports have been on the rise for<br />
the past couple of years, so I think that is a cool opportunity<br />
because women are becoming the presidents of NFL<br />
teams now. That hasn’t happened in the past, so I’m just<br />
super excited to show that women can excel in the sports<br />
industry.”<br />
Students Study Abroad in Italy<br />
Six hospitality and tourism management students recently traveled to<br />
Perugia, Italy, for a faculty-led study abroad program. This trip involved<br />
two courses titled “International Hospitality and Tourism Management”<br />
and “International Culture, Cuisine and Culinary Practices.” Students<br />
were fully immersed in Italian culture.<br />
The trip included tours of fve-star hotels led by general managers,<br />
authentic Italian cooking classes with a Michelin star chef and a visit<br />
to the world-renowned art museum the Ufzi Gallery. Students had a<br />
chance to speak with top managers in Perugia’s hospitality organizations<br />
and connect with expatriates who moved to Italy to start their own<br />
businesses. Students also toured organic and sustainable vineyards and<br />
an agriturismo, where they made cheese, toured the farm, viewed rooms<br />
for rent and explored the on-site restaurant.<br />
The hospitality and tourism industry was hit hard by the pandemic, but<br />
leaders have worked diligently to bounce back with a vengeance. Speaking<br />
with employees, owners and managers of hospitality organizations<br />
in Italy allowed students to see that employee shortages and higher<br />
expectations from guests are not just a local challenge in Alabama, but<br />
an international one. The trip also allowed students to see the diferences<br />
in service and engage in discussions about diferent solutions to some of<br />
these challenges. Not only did students make national and international<br />
connections and friendships, but they also made lifelong memories.<br />
Students can join the Department of Hospitality and Tourism<br />
Management on its next study abroad adventure to Seville, Spain, in<br />
May-June 2023. Open your eyes to the countless opportunities available<br />
in hospitality and tourism management and see how a degree in this<br />
industry can take you anywhere in the world.<br />
Would you like to donate to the hospitality and tourism management<br />
study abroad program? All contributions will go toward minimizing<br />
the cost of the trip for students. Please contact Amanda Donaldson at<br />
amandadonaldson@SouthAlabama.edu for more information.<br />
Bonura is a part of many organizations on campus outside<br />
of SGA. She is a member of the Hospitality Club, Hospitality<br />
Ambassadors, Eta Sigma Delta Honor Society, Phi Mu<br />
sorority and Mortar Board honor society. Her experience<br />
as an ambassador has allowed her to show potential<br />
students what the hospitality and tourism management<br />
program is all about.<br />
“During USA Days or other recruiting events, we welcome<br />
prospective students. We show them around campus, the<br />
College of Education and Professional Studies, and the<br />
Hospitality and Tourism Management ofce. I love sharing<br />
my passion for the feld.”<br />
SCAN FOR CAMILLE’S<br />
SOUTH SAYS VIDEO<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALAB AMA 44
INTEGRATIVE STUDIES<br />
From the ofce of Owl Peak Labs, the<br />
life sciences company he co-founded in<br />
Charlottesville, Va., Tim Harvey leads a<br />
national team of doctors and scientists<br />
working to save lives with technology<br />
that could help detect early-stage<br />
colorectal cancer.<br />
He takes Zoom meetings in front<br />
of a bookshelf decorated with<br />
a University of South Alabama<br />
football helmet. Once a<br />
Jaguar, always a Jaguar.<br />
“Yeah, that’s my helmet – I<br />
love this thing,” Harvey said,<br />
pulling it down from a shelf. “I<br />
have all my jerseys, too.”<br />
In 2009, Harvey came to South as a safety<br />
for the very frst Jaguar football team. He was<br />
defensive captain for a squad that went undefeated<br />
during his senior year. He remains a South supporter<br />
and fan.<br />
“Having the opportunity to build a program and see<br />
what’s happening there, to this day, is very special,” he<br />
said. “With the company, I’ve been surprised at how often<br />
I’ve drawn on my athletic and communication skill sets<br />
– the ability to make sure everyone’s speaking from the<br />
same platform. It helps a company, it helps a team, move<br />
in one direction. You can really accelerate pace and get<br />
things done.”<br />
The mission of Owl Peak Labs is to improve<br />
screening for colorectal cancer, the second leading<br />
cause of cancer deaths in the United States. The<br />
company hopes to use remote diagnostics to reach<br />
patients in underserved communities. Its frst<br />
product is an imaging pill that can scan a patient’s<br />
gastrointestinal tract for polyps and other signs<br />
of cancer.<br />
Harvey and his partner at Owl Peak, Dr. Taison Bell,<br />
met in the Darden School of Business at the University<br />
of Virginia. They hit it of and launched the company<br />
even before earning their MBAs.<br />
Since then, Bell has gained fame in public health<br />
during the coronavirus pandemic. As assistant director<br />
of medical intensive care at UVA Hospital, he’s written<br />
and spoken about everything from surges in care to<br />
experimental treatments and coronavirus vaccines.<br />
In the Athletic Department at South, people remember<br />
Harvey – even when they claim they don’t.<br />
“Tim Harvey? Never heard of him,” joked Jinni Frisbey,<br />
senior associate athletic director and football chief of<br />
staf. “No, no, no – he was everything you’d want from<br />
a student-athlete. Super driven, loved the game, fun<br />
guy. He has this charismatic personality and spirit about<br />
everything.”<br />
Frisbey was in charge of sports medicine when Harvey<br />
was battling knee, thumb and ankle injuries. He went<br />
through surgery and rehab several times. If he was told<br />
that a recovery might take six weeks, or six months, he<br />
would strive to fnish in four.<br />
45 PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
She thought that kind of grit and determination would<br />
pay of after college.<br />
“I knew he was very business-oriented, so I wasn’t<br />
surprised that’s what he’s done,” Frisbey said. “I knew he<br />
was going to be successful at whatever he did.”<br />
Harvey, 34, grew up in Evanston, Illinois, where both of his<br />
parents worked in fnance. After graduating from South in<br />
2010 with a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies,<br />
he returned home for postgraduate work in fnance at<br />
Northwestern University.<br />
In Chicago, he worked as a commodities trader. In New<br />
York, he worked on Wall Street and became executive<br />
director of an equity research frm. He has advised<br />
several start-up companies, including Lost Ones flm and<br />
television studio and Digital Direct IR.<br />
These kinds of fnance and technology connections led<br />
Harvey to Virginia, the Darden School of Business and Owl<br />
Peak Labs. He worked and went to business school at the<br />
same time.<br />
“It was tough, it was defnitely tough,” he said. “But it’s just<br />
discipline, right? There is an extreme level of efciency,<br />
and a lot of it comes down to time, what you’re willing to<br />
sacrifce and how you’re determined to get there.”<br />
He runs in the morning, makes time for yoga and saves<br />
some exercise or weight training for the evening. Work<br />
begins with what he calls a "morning huddle." His days<br />
are long – “I’m a 100-hour-a-week guy” – but he enjoys a<br />
fexible schedule.<br />
Tim Harvey, Owl Peak Lab's founder,<br />
presenting at a Creative Destruction<br />
Lab - Vancouver session on Oct. 27,<br />
<strong>2022</strong>. Photo captured by Brian Howell.<br />
“Less routine, more rhythm,” Harvey said. “I’m trying to fnd<br />
a balance with company building, ftness and the right<br />
amount of downtime, surfng if possible.”<br />
Harvey travels around the world building relationships<br />
and raising capital to forward the development of the<br />
technology.<br />
In pre-pandemic days, he enjoyed visiting Mobile. He<br />
stayed at the Battle House Hotel and went to Wintzell’s for<br />
roasted oysters. He imagined himself getting ready for a<br />
Saturday night game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.<br />
Harvey hasn’t seen the new Hancock Whitney Stadium<br />
on campus yet, but says he will be back this season to<br />
support the new staf. He stays in touch with several<br />
football players and coaches from South. He still loves the<br />
game.<br />
He started his college football career at Drake University,<br />
a private institution in Iowa, before heading south to join a<br />
brand-new program in Mobile.<br />
“We were all new recruits and a bunch of transfer students,”<br />
he said. “I was so lucky to be on those teams and have<br />
such a blast. It was exciting to watch great people build<br />
a program and experience vision become a reality<br />
frsthand. We also didn’t lose, so we set a pretty high<br />
standard for years to come.”<br />
“Less routine, more<br />
rhythm. I’m trying to fnd<br />
a balance with company<br />
building, ftness and the<br />
right amount of downtime,<br />
surfng if possible.”<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA 46
LEADERSHIP AND TEA CHER EDUCA TION<br />
New Chair<br />
Returns to<br />
Alabama<br />
The University of South Alabama<br />
College of Education and<br />
Professional Studies welcomes<br />
Dr. R. Allan Allday as its new chair<br />
for the Department of Leadership<br />
and Teacher Education. Allday has<br />
had many experiences teaching and<br />
mentoring around the globe, and<br />
now he returns to work in his home<br />
state for the frst time in nearly<br />
20 years.<br />
Originally from Fulton, Alabama,<br />
Allday is a frst-generation college<br />
graduate. He earned a bachelor’s<br />
degree in psychology, master’s in<br />
special education and doctoral<br />
degree in special education with a<br />
minor in school psychology, all from<br />
Auburn University. He earned his<br />
Board Certifed Behavior Analyst-<br />
Doctoral (BCBA-D) certifcation in<br />
2011 and is now a licensed behavior<br />
analyst in Alabama.<br />
Upon earning his master’s degree<br />
and obtaining a teaching certifcate,<br />
Allday jumped right into teaching.<br />
He worked as a special education<br />
teacher at W.F. Burns Middle School<br />
in Valley, Alabama.<br />
During his doctoral studies<br />
at Auburn, Allday worked in<br />
the university's Department of<br />
Rehabilitation and Special Education<br />
as a graduate teaching assistant,<br />
supervisor of feld experiences and<br />
assistant director for the Summer<br />
Learning Clinic.<br />
After earning a Ph.D., Allday<br />
accepted a position as an<br />
assistant professor of special<br />
education at the College of<br />
Charleston in South Carolina. He<br />
then moved to Oklahoma State<br />
University and served as an assistant<br />
professor of special education.<br />
While at Oklahoma State, Allday<br />
was awarded his frst Fulbright<br />
Scholar grant.<br />
47<br />
PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
“THERE’S THIS MISCONCEPTION ABOUT HIGHER EDUCATION<br />
– THAT WE JUST SIT AROUND AND THINK DEEP THOUGHTS.<br />
BUT WE ACTUALLY DO A LOT OF REALLY PRACTICAL THINGS.”<br />
As a Fulbright Scholar, Allday traveled to Borys Grinchenko<br />
Kyiv Municipal Pedagogical University in Ukraine and<br />
served as a member of the faculty in social pedagogy. He<br />
primarily taught courses to future teachers, social workers<br />
and psychologists about children with problem behaviors.<br />
Allday also consulted with a rehabilitation center for<br />
children with disabilities and worked with various schools<br />
and families in the Kyiv and Lviv communities.<br />
In 2011, Allday accepted a position as assistant professor<br />
at the University of Kentucky College of Education in<br />
the Department of Early Childhood, Special Education<br />
and Counselor Education. In 2014, he was promoted<br />
to associate professor, and in 2016, he started a joint<br />
appointment as an associate professor in the College of<br />
Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics.<br />
“I think that my experience with developmental behavioral<br />
pediatrics is cool because I don't know that most people<br />
think about teacher education and medicine working<br />
together,” Allday said. “We were able to help a lot of<br />
children with behavior problems that weren’t always<br />
helped by medicinal interventions. While working in<br />
collaboration with pediatrics, we were able to meet the<br />
needs of families that would have otherwise not received<br />
any services to help with challenging behaviors.”<br />
Allday also served as founding director of the University<br />
of Kentucky’s Applied Behavior Analysis graduate<br />
program. This led to him co-founding the Center for<br />
Applied Behavioral Supports at the University, which<br />
serves children and youths with severe challenging<br />
behaviors and their families. He worked with the Women<br />
and Philanthropy Network, a group that provides grants<br />
to professors, to help his students pay for college tuition.<br />
In return, the students worked with Allday at the<br />
behavioral clinic and learned the skills needed to consult<br />
with families. Students ofer their services at the clinic free<br />
of charge, teaching parents how to reduce their child’s<br />
behavioral problems.<br />
During Allday’s tenure at Kentucky, he worked with a<br />
student from Ukraine who had received a Fulbright award<br />
to complete a graduate degree in the United States.<br />
Allday had worked with the student in Lviv. Also while at<br />
Kentucky, Allday was awarded a second Fulbright Scholar<br />
grant to travel to the University of Sopron in Hungary. He<br />
was a member of the Benedek Elek Faculty of Pedagogy.<br />
“The Fulbright experience in Hungary was both<br />
professionally and personally satisfying,” Allday said. “I<br />
was able to teach courses at the university and provide<br />
consultation for teachers who were managing challenging<br />
behaviors. Personally, it was very special because I was<br />
able to take my family with me. This was powerful for me<br />
due to my experiences as a child in rural Alabama. As a<br />
child, coming to Mobile was a big outing. However, my<br />
children have had the opportunity to see things that I only<br />
read about as a child.”<br />
Allday has been an active researcher, with nearly 40<br />
peer-reviewed journal articles. He has presented his<br />
research at more than 100 venues, from local schools to<br />
international conferences. His research has focused on<br />
strategies for dealing with problem behavior. Allday has<br />
worked with children with and without disabilities as well<br />
as the adults in their lives to help manage behavior. He<br />
has worked with hospitals, school districts, universities and<br />
orphanages across the world.<br />
“Working with children with challenging behavior can<br />
be difcult,” he said. “Helping families is such an important<br />
thing because, as parents, you never know what you’re<br />
going to get. Every parent has hopes for what their child<br />
will do. No one wants or hopes to have a child that is<br />
extraordinarily aggressive. When this happens, reality hits,<br />
and as parents, they don’t know what to do. It is<br />
such a blessing to be able to empower parents to help<br />
their children through interventions they can carry out in<br />
their homes.”<br />
Though his motivation for returning to Alabama<br />
was to be closer to his family, Allday has many plans<br />
for his time at South. He’s most passionate about<br />
involving the community in departmental research and<br />
projects. He hopes to get his faculty involved in local<br />
schools for hands-on research opportunities. Allday also<br />
plans to work closely with his faculty to help them realize<br />
their potential.<br />
“I really enjoy bringing the community into what we’re<br />
doing. There’s this misconception about higher education<br />
– that we just sit around and think deep thoughts. But<br />
we actually do a lot of really practical things. There is<br />
so much potential here at South to positively impact our<br />
community and get our community involved in what we<br />
are doing.”<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA 48
Reading<br />
Education<br />
in the Era<br />
of Literacy<br />
Legislation<br />
Dr. Lauren Brannan (lef), Dr. Karen Morrison<br />
(center) and Dr. Hannah Szatkowski (right)<br />
plan to measure the language and reading<br />
instruction knowledge, skills and pedagogy of<br />
Alabama’s elementary public school teachers.<br />
Dr. Lauren Brannan, assistant professor of reading<br />
education, was awarded an internal research grant from<br />
the University of South Alabama College of Education and<br />
Professional Studies for a project titled “Reading Education<br />
in the Era of Literacy Legislation.”<br />
Supporting the grant are Dr. Karen Morrison, assistant<br />
professor of elementary education, co-principal<br />
investigator; Dr. Hannah Szatkowski, assistant professor<br />
of reading education, co-principal investigator; and Dr.<br />
Marissa J. Filderman, assistant professor of collaborative<br />
special education at the University of Alabama, external<br />
collaborator. The team received $3,000 to measure the<br />
language and reading instruction knowledge, skills and<br />
pedagogy of Alabama’s elementary public elementary<br />
school teachers.<br />
Following the implementation of the Alabama Literacy Act,<br />
this research will assess how the professional development<br />
ofered to teachers that fowed from the act impacted<br />
elementary teachers’ knowledge of language, confdence<br />
teaching reading, and beliefs about reading difculties.<br />
According to the team’s research so far, the majority of<br />
American elementary students are reading below grade<br />
level, and Alabama is below the national average. Teachers’<br />
knowledge of language is low, which may be a contributing<br />
factor to what is causing the students to fall behind.<br />
“The science of reading training has been geared toward<br />
teachers in grades pre-K-3,” Brannan said. “This leaves<br />
out the upper elementary grade levels, where teachers<br />
often still encounter struggling readers who are in need of<br />
instructional intervention.”<br />
Early analyses are showing that Alabama elementary<br />
teachers, including those who have not participated in<br />
the professional development, still possess some gaps in<br />
knowledge of language and some misconceptions about<br />
“THE SCIENCE OF READING<br />
TRAINING HAS BEEN GEARED<br />
TOWARD TEACHERS IN GRADES<br />
PRE-K-3. THIS LEAVES OUT THE<br />
UPPER ELEMENTARY GRADE<br />
LEVELS, WHERE TEACHERS OFTEN<br />
STILL ENCOUNTER STRUGGLING<br />
READERS WHO ARE IN NEED OF<br />
INSTRUCTIONAL INTERVENTION.”<br />
reading difculties. The team has found that professional<br />
development appears to be having a positive impact.<br />
Brannan’s team has also found that teachers in grades K-2<br />
tend to score higher on the knowledge assessment. They<br />
believe this is because professional development has been<br />
geared towards these grade levels.<br />
Ultimately, the team plans to provide information about the<br />
efectiveness of the science of reading – the interdisciplinary<br />
body of scientifcally based research about reading and<br />
issues related to reading and writing – through professional<br />
development opportunities throughout the state.<br />
“I am immensely passionate about the impact of the science<br />
of reading on teachers’ confdence and implementation<br />
of reading instruction,” Szatkowski said. “I look forward<br />
to fnding out more about how the science of reading<br />
translates into classrooms throughout the state of Alabama.”<br />
Internal research grant recipients will make presentations to<br />
the college in spring 2023 regarding the fndings and impact<br />
of their research as well as future external funding proposals<br />
that may result from these seed grants.<br />
49 PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
Leadership in<br />
Social Justice<br />
& Perseverance<br />
Scholarship<br />
Find out how to support this initiative at giving.SouthAlabama.edu/socialjustice,<br />
or contact the Ofce of Development at (251) 460-7032. To apply for this scholarship<br />
log on to JagSPOT using your J number and JagMail password.<br />
KKennedy Reese, who recently earned a bachelor’s degree in<br />
secondary education from the University of South Alabama<br />
College of Education and Professional Studies, was one<br />
of the frst recipients of the Leadership in Social Justice<br />
and Perseverance Scholarship, awarded to students who<br />
demonstrate leadership, a commitment to social justice and<br />
perseverance.<br />
Reese, a social studies teacher at Blount High School in Eight<br />
Mile, was a leader against social inequities during her time<br />
at South. She was vice president for the University chapter of<br />
the NAACP.<br />
“I believe to see the more progressive world I deeply desire, it<br />
is very important that I use my voice and inspire others to use<br />
theirs to stand up to any injustices they may face. We are the<br />
change,” she said.<br />
The 100 Black Men of Greater Mobile, in partnership with<br />
the University, established the Leadership in Social Justice<br />
and Perseverance Scholarship in 2020 with an initial gift of<br />
$10,000 to remember all of those who have fallen to systems<br />
of oppression and injustice.<br />
The group also created the 100 Black Men USA Scholars<br />
of Perseverance and Social Justice award, a full-tuition<br />
scholarship for an incoming freshman.<br />
The University has raised more than $338,000 for the<br />
Leadership in Social Justice and Perseverance Scholarship<br />
including matching funds provided by the Mitchell-Moulton<br />
Scholarship Initiative. Notable gifts include the 100 Black Men<br />
of Greater Mobile, Inc, Alabama Power Foundation, Hancock<br />
Whitney Bank, the AT&T Alabama Foundation, University<br />
administrative leaders and many individuals. The Mitchell-<br />
Moulton Scholarship Initiative, which matches donations<br />
dollar for dollar, doubles the impact for our students.<br />
“I BELIEVE TO SEE THE MORE<br />
PROGRESSIVE WORLD I DEEPLY<br />
DESIRE, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT<br />
THAT I USE MY VOICE AND INSPIRE<br />
OTHERS TO USE THEIRS TO STAND<br />
UP TO ANY INJUSTICES THEY MAY<br />
FACE. WE ARE THE CHANGE.”<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA 50
OFFICE OF FIELD SERVICES<br />
MCPSS Honors South as<br />
Learning Leading Award Winner<br />
“IT WAS A WIN FOR<br />
SOUTH, AS WE<br />
SINCERELY HOPE<br />
THAT IN AS LITTLE AS<br />
SEVEN YEARS SOME<br />
OF THESE ELEMENTARY<br />
STUDENTS WILL<br />
BECOME JAGUARS.”<br />
Pictured lef to right are Dr. Trés Stefurak, associate dean and professor<br />
for the College of Education and Professional Studies; Jennifer<br />
Simpson, director of feld services; Pam Patterson, assistant director<br />
of feld services; and Dr. John Kovaleski, interim dean for the College of<br />
Education and Professional Studies.<br />
MMobile County Public Schools recognized the University<br />
of South Alabama College of Education and Professional<br />
Studies with a Learning Leading Award in June <strong>2022</strong> for<br />
being an outstanding community partner. In fall 2021,<br />
during a teacher shortage, South partnered with the<br />
school system to staf the elementary-level Academy of<br />
Virtual Learning.<br />
“The program came about from a desire of the district<br />
and the college to begin to address the teacher shortage<br />
that so many districts are experiencing these days,” said<br />
Dr. Andre Green, professor and associate vice president of<br />
academic afairs.<br />
Traditional student teachers typically work in a classroom<br />
alongside a certifed teacher, referred to as the<br />
cooperating teacher. A University supervisor also visits<br />
the classroom several times a month to provide support<br />
and observe lessons. Prior to the fnal student-teaching<br />
semester, South student teachers learn successful teaching<br />
methods in on-campus classes and complete many feld<br />
experiences in local elementary school classrooms.<br />
As part of a new Transitioning to Teaching program, some<br />
fall 2021 student teachers worked in the Mobile County<br />
Public Schools’ Academy of Virtual Learning, where they<br />
assumed more teaching responsibilities than traditional<br />
student teachers. A team of retired teachers oversaw<br />
the student teachers, serving as both the cooperating<br />
teacher and University supervisor. The oversight team also<br />
helped with planning and support and observed lessons<br />
to provide feedback. Certifed teachers on-site provided<br />
additional support.<br />
Student teachers in the Transitioning to Teaching program<br />
received a monthly stipend and free fall tuition. After<br />
meeting graduation requirements in December 2021, each<br />
student in the program was ofered a full-time position<br />
with Mobile County Public Schools.<br />
“As COVID-19 disrupted school systems nationwide, new<br />
ideas and strategies emerged as a result of the pandemic,”<br />
said Jennifer Simpson, senior instructor and director of feld<br />
services in College of Education and Professional Studies.<br />
“This partnership was a result of two groups working<br />
together to solve COVID-19 related challenges as well as<br />
the teacher shortage. I think it is also important to note that<br />
the student teachers who participated in the program had<br />
extensive feld experiences in the two semesters prior to<br />
beginning at the MCPSS Academy of Virtual Learning in<br />
the fall of 2021. Those experiences, along with the support<br />
from University faculty and supervisors, were vital to the<br />
success of these new teachers.”<br />
“The program was able to assist the district with meeting<br />
a need, and the district was able to assist the college in<br />
providing this opportunity for our students,” Green said. “It<br />
was a win for South, as we sincerely hope that in as little<br />
as seven years some of these elementary students will<br />
become Jaguars.”<br />
51 PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
It’s never<br />
too late.<br />
Complete your degree at South.<br />
SouthAlabama.edu/AdultLearner
OFFICE OF ADULT LEARNER SERVICES<br />
Bob Charlebois, director of the<br />
University of South Alabama Ofce of<br />
Adult Learner Services, leads eforts<br />
to support current and prospective<br />
nontraditional, adult students. The<br />
ofce, although housed in the College<br />
of Education and Professional<br />
Studies, serves a University-wide<br />
initiative to reach adults pursuing<br />
any degree program at South.<br />
53 PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
South Partnering<br />
with Amazon<br />
A<br />
A new partnership between the University of<br />
South Alabama and Amazon will make earning a<br />
college degree much easier for employees of the<br />
e-commerce giant. Amazon’s Career Choice program<br />
is an educational beneft that empowers Amazon<br />
employees to learn new skills for career success with the<br />
company or elsewhere. The company will reimburse its<br />
employees’ college tuition costs under the program.<br />
“Amazon pays the university directly up front,” said Bob<br />
Charlebois, director of USA’s adult learner services.<br />
“Many similar programs make the student pay then<br />
reimburse them which can be difcult for students to<br />
come up with the money initially.”<br />
Amazon’s Career Choice program launched in 2012.<br />
Since then, more than 50,000 Amazon employees have<br />
participated globally, including more than 35,000 in<br />
the U.S. Healthcare, transportation and information<br />
technology have been the programs' more popular<br />
felds of study. More than half of the participants have<br />
identifed as Black, Hispanic or Native American.<br />
In the U.S., the company is investing $1.2 billion to upskill<br />
more than 300,000 Amazon employees by 2025 to<br />
help move them into higher-paying, in-demand jobs.<br />
Amazon will fund college tuition toward bachelor’s<br />
degrees, as well as high school programs, GEDs, and<br />
English as a Second Language profciency certifcations<br />
for eligible employees, including those who joined the<br />
company as recently as three months ago.<br />
“We’re looking forward to the University of South<br />
Alabama coming on board as an education partner<br />
for Career Choice, adding to the hundreds of best-inclass<br />
oferings available to our employees,” said Tammy<br />
Thieman, Global Program Lead of Amazon’s Career<br />
Choice program. “We’re committed to empowering our<br />
employees by providing them access to the education<br />
and training they need to grow their careers, whether<br />
that’s with us or elsewhere.<br />
South is one of 180 institutions nationally and the frst<br />
on the Gulf Coast to enter this partnership. According<br />
to Amazon press information, the company chose<br />
the partner schools based on the school’s history of<br />
educating adult students, such as those who went<br />
straight from high school into full-time employment<br />
or those who never had a way to pay for a college<br />
New Academic Opportunities<br />
to Launch Soon<br />
BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN<br />
ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP<br />
An application to start a fully online Bachelor of Science<br />
degree in Organizational Leadership has been submitted to<br />
the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. Once approved,<br />
the new program will be housed in the University of South<br />
Alabama College of Education and Professional Studies and<br />
will target adult learners, military personnel and traditional<br />
undergraduate students. The program seeks to provide a<br />
pathway to leadership positions in business, nonproft and<br />
government organizations and will consist of core courses in<br />
the following domains:<br />
• Leadership theory and management practice<br />
• Legal and ethical issues<br />
• Staf development and evaluation<br />
• Diversity, equity and inclusion practices<br />
• Teamwork and confict resolution<br />
• Financial afairs<br />
• Communication skills<br />
• Capstone internship<br />
Dr. Paige Vitulli, pvitulli@southalabama.edu<br />
PRIOR LEARNING ASSESSMENT<br />
The term prior learning assessment refers to all of the<br />
processes the University of South Alabama uses to review and<br />
evaluate evidence of learning outside formal higher education<br />
for which academic credit cannot be granted through existing<br />
articulation agreements or course equivalencies. Evidence<br />
of such learning may be derived from previous academic<br />
work, testing, or various life and work experiences. At South,<br />
credit for prior learning is assessed through the College Level<br />
Examination Program, Challenge Exams, ROTC/Military<br />
credits, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate,<br />
and by Portfolio.<br />
Credit through prior learning assessment by Portfolio can be<br />
awarded based on the review and approval of a comprehensive<br />
collection of evidence that documents knowledge and skills<br />
acquired outside of the academic classroom that align with<br />
learning objectives of specifc and approved college courses.<br />
Bob Charlebois, rjcharlebois@southalabama.edu<br />
education right out of high school. Qualifed employees can<br />
take as long as they need to earn their degrees.<br />
The Career Choice program benefts South as a potential<br />
pipeline for students who will have an easier time navigating<br />
their fnancial path toward a college degree.<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA 54
FACULTY AND STAFF<br />
A Commitment<br />
to Excellence<br />
TThe College of Education and<br />
Professional Studies ofers an<br />
exciting learning environment based<br />
on a tradition of innovation and<br />
excellence. If students are pursuing<br />
their frst professional credential,<br />
seeking advanced degrees or exploring<br />
new certifcations, they will fnd a<br />
support system of faculty and advisors<br />
in the college who are committed to<br />
student success.<br />
“OUR SUCCESS IS<br />
OWED TO THEIR<br />
HARD WORK AND<br />
DEDICATION”<br />
Faculty and staf receive honors in<br />
teaching and excel in professional<br />
practice. Many are well published,<br />
conduct research and ofer<br />
opportunities for students to<br />
broaden their professional and<br />
cultural experiences, locally and<br />
internationally. Students fnd a<br />
contagious enthusiasm in the<br />
classroom coupled with excellence in<br />
teaching that is driven by research to<br />
enhance their knowledge.<br />
The college hosted its Faculty and<br />
Staf Awards and Retiree Celebration<br />
in May <strong>2022</strong>.<br />
“Our faculty and staf are the heart<br />
of the College of Education and<br />
Professional Studies,” said Dr. John<br />
Kovaleski, interim dean. “Our<br />
success is owed to their hard work<br />
and dedication. Congratulations to<br />
our <strong>2022</strong> faculty and staf awardees,<br />
and thank you for your outstanding<br />
contributions to the college.”<br />
Gerry Jean Clark<br />
Exemplary Staf Award<br />
Patricia “Patti” Foster<br />
Being located in the Department of Health,<br />
Kinesiology, and Sport Building requires<br />
above average levels of coordination, as<br />
many areas in the building are shared with<br />
Athletics, University events and the Jaguar<br />
Marching Band. Mrs. Patricia "Patti" Foster<br />
does an excellent job of recognizing the<br />
needs of everyone involved and organizing<br />
availability to meet the demands. Foster has<br />
also been incredible in scheduling courses<br />
and helping with the management of<br />
adjunct instructors. Her position has many<br />
seen and unseen aspects, and she handles<br />
all of them in a professional and timely<br />
manner. She is always willing to help any<br />
faculty or staf member in the department<br />
with whatever is needed. Her work ethic,<br />
interpersonal skills and professionalism in<br />
working with students, staf and faculty are<br />
appreciated by all.<br />
Faculty of Excellence Award<br />
Dr. Ryan Colquhoun<br />
Dr. Ryan Colquhoun demonstrates<br />
extraordinary commitment to the success<br />
of the Department of Health, Kinesiology,<br />
and Sport. Colquhoun increased the<br />
research capabilities of the exercise<br />
science laboratories by creating a<br />
resistance exercise lab space, where he<br />
is currently managing a time-intensive<br />
resistance training study. He has heavily<br />
involved eight undergraduate students<br />
and two master's students as research<br />
assistants and coordinators for the study.<br />
He is actively working with students<br />
who are submitting abstracts for poster<br />
presentations at annual conferences for<br />
academic professional organizations,<br />
including the National Strength and<br />
Conditioning Association, International<br />
Society of Sports Nutrition and Southeast<br />
Chapter of the American College of Sports<br />
Medicine. Colquhoun served as a Summer<br />
Undergraduate Research Fellow mentor for<br />
the past two years. He has been active in<br />
collaborating with other faculty members<br />
on their research projects, demonstrating<br />
his willingness to be a team member and to<br />
not build a silo within the department. This<br />
efort is resulting in increased visibility<br />
and recognition of the exercise science<br />
program on regional and national scales.<br />
Colquhoun serves as the exercise science<br />
graduate program coordinator, activity<br />
program coordinator and graduate assistant<br />
coordinator. He serves as a committee<br />
member on the USA Institutional Review<br />
Board, which is an important role in<br />
ensuring efcient implementation of<br />
research compliance across the<br />
University community.<br />
55 PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
Dean’s Award of Excellence<br />
Dr. Paige Vitulli<br />
Dr. Paige Vitulli is recognized for the Dean’s<br />
Award of Excellence for her leadership<br />
skills and eforts as chair of the Department<br />
of Integrative Studies and interim chair of<br />
the Department of Leadership and Teacher<br />
Education, faculty athletic representative<br />
for the University and ofcer of the USA<br />
National Alumni Association Board, and for<br />
her involvement with various community<br />
organizations. She is recognized as an<br />
innovator and efective collaborator<br />
across the University community. Vitulli<br />
is acknowledged as supportive in creating<br />
and sharing ideas while working for the<br />
betterment of students, faculty and staf.<br />
“As someone who has enriched the lives of<br />
so many students through the excellence<br />
of her teaching and service to help every<br />
student, Vitulli richly deserves recognition<br />
through this award,” said Dr. John<br />
Kovaleski, interim dean of the College of<br />
Education and Professional Studies.<br />
Faculty of Excellence Award<br />
Dr. Jeanette Manders<br />
Dr. Jeanette “Jenny” Manders consistently<br />
involves students in innovative and creative<br />
strategies to engage them in online learning<br />
and revises her teaching to improve student<br />
learning outcomes. She has most recently<br />
participated in Symbiosis Course Redesign<br />
through departmental collaboration with<br />
Symbiosis Educational Consultants and<br />
the USA Innovation in Learning Center<br />
as well as the Association of College and<br />
University Educators Course Redesign.<br />
Manders' service includes involvement<br />
and signifcant community engagement<br />
in Baldwin County as evidenced by her<br />
selection by leadership in the Ofce of<br />
Community Engagement to be part of<br />
the 2020-2021 Faculty Fellows Program<br />
in Service Learning and Community<br />
Engagement. Her recent community service<br />
in Baldwin County includes work with the<br />
South Baldwin Literacy Council; South<br />
Baldwin Chamber Foundation Board;<br />
Coastal Alabama Business Chamber; and<br />
Education Council, Scholarship Committee,<br />
Business Development Committee. For<br />
the University of South Alabama, Manders<br />
most recently served on the Academic<br />
Standards Committee and Curriculum<br />
Committee and is the College of Education<br />
and Professional Studies caucus leader<br />
in the Faculty Senate. She has been<br />
instrumental in the development of timeintensive<br />
instructive and policy documents<br />
to initiate prior learning assessment by<br />
portfolio. These include the PLA Policy<br />
Guide, PLA Faculty Reviewer's Guide and<br />
rubric, PLA Student Contract, and PLA<br />
Online Module.<br />
Welcoming New<br />
Faculty and Staf<br />
Dr. Allan Allday<br />
Associate Professor and Chair, Department<br />
of Leadership and Teacher Education<br />
Shelly Bates<br />
Assistant Professor, Recreational Therapy,<br />
Department of Health, Kinesiology,<br />
and Sport<br />
Dr. Lu Ding<br />
Assistant Professor, Instructional<br />
Design and Development, Department of<br />
Counseling and Instructional Sciences<br />
Dr. Matthew Stratton<br />
Assistant Professor, Exercise Science<br />
Department of Health, Kinesiology,<br />
and Sport<br />
Tonette Adams<br />
Academic Records Specialist,<br />
Ofce of Student Services<br />
Dominique House<br />
Academic Records Specialist<br />
Ofce of Student Services<br />
Sharon Leibert<br />
Secretary V, South Alabama Research<br />
and Inservice Center<br />
Timothy Johnson<br />
Technology in Motion Specialist<br />
South Alabama Research and<br />
Inservice Center<br />
Blakely McAllister<br />
Secretary V, Department of<br />
Integrative Studies<br />
Honoring Recent<br />
College Retirees<br />
Dr. Ellen Broach<br />
Associate Professor, Recreational Therapy,<br />
Department of Health, Kinesiology,<br />
and Sport<br />
Dr. Burke Johnson<br />
Professor, Instructional Design and<br />
Development, Department of Counseling<br />
and Instructional Sciences<br />
Jennifer Fillingim<br />
Credentials and Degree Analyst I,<br />
Ofce of Student Services<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALAB AMA 56
DEVELOPMENT | ADVISORY COUNCIL<br />
The Heart of<br />
Education
Martha Peek, a University of South Alabama alumna,<br />
grew up in the beautiful fshing community of Bayou La<br />
Batre, Alabama, and graduated from Alba School. Many<br />
family members worked as educators, and she grew<br />
up knowing clearly that one day she would become a<br />
teacher.<br />
“We need teachers who are caring and compassionate with<br />
a heart for the students,” Peek said. “Current and future<br />
teachers need to be committed and dedicated to helping<br />
students achieve success. We need teachers to inspire young<br />
people and help them to be their very best. Great teachers<br />
understand clearly that the No. 1 priority is the students.”<br />
“I grew up in a close-knit community where my<br />
grandmother was a teacher on Dauphin Island,” Peek said.<br />
“My mother and great-aunt were teachers and principals.<br />
They all were extraordinary educators because they<br />
didn’t mind asking the tough and difcult questions to<br />
make sure the students were getting the best curriculum<br />
and instruction. They demanded rigor, which is a high<br />
standard of excellence, and with dedication developed<br />
caring and inspiring relationships with their students.<br />
Because of them, I couldn’t help but have a heart and<br />
passion for teaching.”<br />
“THEY ALL WERE EXTRAORDINARY<br />
EDUCATORS BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T<br />
MIND ASKING THE TOUGH AND<br />
DIFFICULT QUESTIONS TO MAKE<br />
SURE THE STUDENTS WERE<br />
GETTING THE BEST CURRICULUM<br />
AND INSTRUCTION.”<br />
Peek began her teaching career at Alba School after<br />
graduating from college. Her frst-grade teacher was still<br />
at the school. She became Peek’s mentor.<br />
“I wanted to teach to enlighten students and prepare them<br />
for their future careers,” Peek said. “I am honored to follow<br />
in the footsteps of my family members who as educators<br />
enjoyed learning and sharing their knowledge and skills. I<br />
am also grateful my frst-grade teacher was kind enough<br />
to support me when I needed it the most.”<br />
News reports today warn of teacher shortages and<br />
their efect on students. Peek said it is important for new<br />
teachers to have extra support from seasoned teachers<br />
as well as administrators. Since the start of the pandemic<br />
in 2020, according to the National Education Association,<br />
an estimated 55 percent of educators have thought about<br />
leaving the profession earlier than they had previously<br />
planned.<br />
Eighty-six percent of NEA members say they have seen<br />
more educators leaving the profession due to burnout<br />
and retirement.<br />
In March <strong>2022</strong>, Martha Peek was honored by University of South Alabama<br />
President Jo Bonner as a <strong>2022</strong> Distinguished Alumni Award recipient.<br />
In 2012, Peek was named Mobile County Public Schools<br />
superintendent. It was not on her radar for future careers. She<br />
had worked her way up from teacher to principal, assistant<br />
superintendent and deputy superintendent. Peek was very<br />
surprised when the Board of School Commissioners ofered<br />
her the job. She became the frst female superintendent in the<br />
180-year history of the school system.<br />
“Being named superintendent was a big surprise and a great<br />
honor,” Peek said. “I was not expecting this opportunity. I<br />
knew deep in my heart and mind that I was a teacher. I<br />
was passionate about changing the lives of students. As an<br />
educator, I shared my passion for teaching with the teachers,<br />
administrators and support staf."<br />
Peek had already positioned herself as an educational leader<br />
by earning her master’s degree in education from South. She<br />
wanted to learn as much as she could to teach and lead as an<br />
administrator.<br />
She established a Leadership Roundtable and Signature<br />
Academy Councils that have linked business, industry and<br />
higher education in robust partnerships with the school system<br />
to inform curriculum design and support the development of<br />
student career pathways.<br />
“As a former Mobile County Public School System<br />
superintendent, Martha Peek continues to leave an indelible<br />
mark as an educator,” said Interim Dean of the College of<br />
Education and Professional Studies Dr. John Kovaleski. “We are<br />
proud she is an alumna of the University of South Alabama<br />
who continues to mentor current and future teachers.”<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA 58
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL STUDIES<br />
ADVISORY COUNCIL<br />
Carolyn Akers<br />
CEO<br />
Mobile Area Education Foundation<br />
Gigi Armbrecht<br />
AT&T (Retired)<br />
Frank Barrow<br />
Director of Army Instruction<br />
Mobile County Public Schools<br />
“THE STUDENTS ARE THE HEART<br />
OF EDUCATION AND DESERVE<br />
NOTHING BUT THE BEST FROM<br />
EVERY TEACHER.”<br />
In March <strong>2022</strong>, Peek was honored along with four<br />
others as a <strong>2022</strong> Distinguished Alumni Award recipient,<br />
for outstanding leadership as an educator. She is a<br />
graduate of Leadership Alabama’s Class XXVI. In 2015<br />
AL.com named her one of the "Women Who Shape<br />
the State.”<br />
“I am honored to serve on the College of Education and<br />
Professional Studies Advisory Council,” Peek said. “I am<br />
also humbled to have been recognized and honored<br />
along with other great people during this year’s<br />
University of South Alabama’s Distinguished Alumni<br />
Awards. It was one of the major highlights of my life.”<br />
During her extensive career in education, Peek served<br />
as a volunteer leader in the community while sharing<br />
the great work of all educators in Mobile County Public<br />
Schools.<br />
“I could not have done this great work by myself,” Peek<br />
said. “I had some great professionals who worked<br />
with me tirelessly and remained serious about student<br />
success and rigor. Today, I tell new teachers to teach<br />
and love the students every day. The students are the<br />
heart of education and deserve nothing but the best<br />
from every teacher, administrator and support staf. It’s<br />
a team efort.”<br />
After a 46-year career as a caring and compassionate<br />
educator, Peek continues to mentor teachers about the<br />
importance of being excellent in the classroom. She is<br />
married to Tyler Peek, a ’76 graduate of the University of<br />
South Alabama.<br />
Travis Bedsole Jr.<br />
Council Chairman<br />
Attorney (Retired)<br />
David Clark<br />
President/CEO<br />
Visit Mobile<br />
Rufus Hudson<br />
Vice President of Commercial Banking<br />
Regions Financial Corporation<br />
Betty Huf<br />
Senior Consultant<br />
AACRAO Consulting<br />
Dr. Aaron Milner<br />
Superintendent<br />
Saraland City Schools<br />
Eric Patterson<br />
Immediate Past Chair<br />
Alabama Power (Retired)<br />
Martha Peek<br />
Superintendent (Retired)<br />
Mobile County Public Schools<br />
Paige Plash<br />
Co-Owner<br />
Encore Rehabilitation, Inc.<br />
Mark Spivey<br />
Vice President of Commercial Banking<br />
Truist<br />
Chresal Threadgill<br />
Superintendent<br />
Mobile County Public Schools<br />
Eddie Tyler<br />
Superintendent<br />
Baldwin County Public Schools<br />
59 PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
Invest in the College<br />
PRIORITIZED GIVING<br />
Financial support dramatically impacts the lives of students in the College of Education<br />
and Professional Studies. Your support allows us to transform our community and expand<br />
our outreach through a commitment to excellence in education and human services.<br />
Two areas of priority for the college are:<br />
STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS<br />
The enrollment, education and graduation of outstanding<br />
students is of paramount importance to the College of<br />
Education and Professional Studies. Employers and other<br />
external constituents beneft from inspired graduates<br />
entering the workforce. In order to attract these students, the<br />
college must ofer competitive scholarships. The Mitchell-<br />
Moulton Scholarship Initiative matches any endowed<br />
undergraduate scholarship gift dollar-for-dollar.<br />
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT<br />
Studies have shown that community engagement<br />
improves learning outcomes, improves critical thinking<br />
and increases ability to apply classroom knowledge of<br />
real-world problems. The College of Education and<br />
Professional Studies provides multiple community<br />
engagement opportunities for students, faculty and staf,<br />
including work with the USA Literacy Center, Williamson<br />
Middle Grades Preparatory Academy, local court systems<br />
and many other organizations. Support from donors allows<br />
the college to continue to provide meaningful service to the<br />
local community.<br />
GIFT PLANNING<br />
Support the University of South<br />
Alabama College of Education and<br />
Professional Studies with a charitable<br />
gift. Put your assets to work with our<br />
tax-efcient charitable strategies,<br />
and take advantage of the many tax<br />
benefts of making a gift.<br />
ABOUT BEQUESTS<br />
You may be looking for a way to<br />
make a signifcant gift to help further<br />
our mission. A bequest is a gift made<br />
through your will or trust. It is one of<br />
the most popular and fexible ways<br />
that you can support our cause.<br />
IRA CHARITABLE<br />
ROLLOVER<br />
An IRA rollover allows people age 70<br />
1/2 or older to reduce their taxable<br />
income by making a gift directly from<br />
their IRA. Donors have created a<br />
scholarship or given an outright gift<br />
toward a variety of programs.<br />
Your investment makes a diference for current and future University of South Alabama students.<br />
However you choose to give, Aimee Meyers, associate director of University Development,<br />
is here to assist you in making a lasting impact. Please visit usalegacy.org for more information<br />
or contact Meyers at ameyers@SouthAlabama.edu or (251) 414-8276.<br />
GIVE NOW<br />
Giving.SouthAlabama.edu<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALAB AMA 60
SCHOLARSHIP SPOTLIGHT<br />
Dr. Thomas L. Chilton<br />
Legacy Scholarship<br />
The College of Education and Professional Studies mourns<br />
the passing of Dr. Thomas Chilton, a longtime professor<br />
and associate dean who had recently celebrated 50 years<br />
of association with the college.<br />
“Dr. Chilton was a knowledgeable and capable leader<br />
who skillfully guided the college throughout his years as<br />
associate dean and who was deeply committed to the<br />
University's mission and goals,” said Dr. John Kovaleski,<br />
interim dean of the college.<br />
Chilton held many titles at the University, and each<br />
contributed to his legacy. After earning an Ed.D. in Health<br />
Education from the University of Tennessee, Chilton<br />
began his career at the University of South Alabama in<br />
1972 as an assistant professor of health education in the<br />
Department of Health, Physical Education, and Leisure<br />
Studies. He was promoted to professor in 1983 and served<br />
as an associate dean of academic and fnancial afairs in<br />
the college from 1986 to 2012. During this period, Chilton<br />
also served two terms as interim dean of the college. He<br />
then retired from the associate dean position. From 2009<br />
to 2021, Chilton served the college part time as director<br />
of international partnerships and collaborated on faculty<br />
exchange and visiting scholar programs along with<br />
international student recruitment initiatives.<br />
Between 1995 and 1997, Chilton designed the space that<br />
today houses the College of Education and Professional<br />
Studies at University Commons and coordinated the<br />
move of the college from the Instructional Learning<br />
Laboratory Building. In 1996, he was appointed to a<br />
University committee charged with beginning online<br />
Dr. Thomas Chilton (lef) hands a University of South Alabama<br />
College of Education and Professional Studies graduate a diploma at<br />
Commencement in December 2012<br />
“He was such a giver to<br />
this University, and it is<br />
our hope that through this<br />
scholarship, his devotion<br />
and commitment to<br />
excellence will be his legacy<br />
for many years to come.”<br />
education. Between 1998 and 2011, Chilton served as<br />
director of USAonline, the University of South Alabama's<br />
learning management system. In that capacity, he helped<br />
the University take one of its biggest leaps. In 1999, USA<br />
launched its frst batch of online courses: a total of nine,<br />
spread across education, business and nursing.<br />
In his years as a professor, Chilton's primary research<br />
interest involved computerized nutritional assessment.<br />
In 1974, he conducted a landmark study with Dr. William<br />
Gilley, then associate professor of health and physical<br />
education. Together, they developed, in conjunction<br />
with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a computer<br />
program to analyze food nutritional content for use by<br />
nurses and dietitians.<br />
61 PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
Chilton made many notable administrative and service<br />
contributions not only to the college but also to Athletics,<br />
the University community and the Alabama State<br />
Department of Education. Chilton served as assistant<br />
chair of the Department of Health and Physical Education<br />
(1977-1983) and worked with then Dean of the College of<br />
Education Dr. George Uhlig to initiate the move of the U.S.<br />
Sports Academy from Wisconsin to South, where it was<br />
housed within the department for several years. It moved<br />
in 1983 to nearby Daphne, Alabama. He also served as<br />
interim athletic director (1980), golf coach (1980-1984),<br />
and chair of the Department of Health, Physical Education,<br />
and Leisure Studies (1983-1985). His contributions to the<br />
Alabama State Department of Education include service<br />
as state certifcation ofcer for teacher preparation<br />
programs (1985-2012) and chairman of the General<br />
Education Committee (1995-2005).<br />
A lifelong advocate of physical ftness, Chilton enjoyed<br />
running. He was a top four fnisher in the long jump at the<br />
NCAA Track and Field Championships and was a member<br />
of the U.S. track team and the U.S. Olympic training team.<br />
He was ranked as high as seventh overall in the United<br />
States in 1968 and was a national master's champion in<br />
the long jump in 1972 and 1978.<br />
The Dr. Thomas L. Chilton Legacy Scholarship in Education<br />
was created to honor Chilton’s legacy and will be<br />
available to undergraduate students who study in the<br />
feld of education at South.<br />
“The only thing to do after Dr. Chilton’s passing was to<br />
create a scholarship in his name to keep his legacy<br />
alive,” said Rebecca Chilton, his daughter-in-law. “He<br />
was such a giver to this University, and it is our hope that<br />
through this scholarship, his devotion and commitment to<br />
excellence will be his legacy for many years to come.”<br />
Chilton’s family said he demonstrated excellence in<br />
everything he did, from athletics to academics, and even<br />
in the way he carried himself around his family, to which<br />
he was devoted.<br />
“He was never the guy who was too busy,” Rebecca said.<br />
“When he was with family, he was fully engaged and<br />
present. Nothing would deter him from spending quality<br />
time with his grandchildren.”<br />
Tommy, Chilton’s son, and Rebecca both graduated<br />
from South in 1983 and earned bachelor's degrees in<br />
marketing. Following graduation, Rebecca began her<br />
career at a management company, but discovered a<br />
passion for education. After speaking with her father-inlaw,<br />
she began studying to earn certifcation to teach<br />
in Mobile.<br />
Tommy Chilton (lef) poses with his dad, Dr. Thomas Chilton, and his wife,<br />
Rebecca Chilton, at the College of Education and Professional Studies<br />
50 th Anniversary celebration in 2017. Dr. Chilton was selected as an<br />
outstanding contributor to the college’s success and transformation, and<br />
his image still hangs in the college with those of the other honorees.<br />
“Education was dad’s wheelhouse,” Tommy said. “Dad<br />
went back to college to become a teacher. He excelled<br />
and got his master’s degree fast and furious with a<br />
passion for excellence. He knew he wanted to be in<br />
the education spectrum for the rest of his life. I think it’s<br />
paramount that this scholarship fulflls that obligation long<br />
after his passing, and I’m hoping long after our passing<br />
as well.”<br />
Dr. Andrea M. Kent, executive vice president and provost,<br />
said Chilton was a well-respected colleague in the<br />
College of Education and Professional Studies.<br />
"Throughout his career, Dr. Chilton positively impacted<br />
the lives of countless students and faculty through his<br />
knowledge, expertise, mentorship and leadership,” said<br />
Kent, who previously served as the college's dean. "His<br />
unwavering commitment to the college and the University<br />
for 50 years is unprecedented, and his legacy will<br />
continue for many years to come.”<br />
Give Now to the Dr. Thomas L. Chilton<br />
Legacy Scholarship in Education<br />
Giving.SouthAlabama.edu/Chilton<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA 62
SCHOLA<br />
Investing in scholarships for students is one of the most important ways you can support the University<br />
of South Alabama. Scholarships are a vital means to expand educational opportunities. In addition to<br />
providing the fnancial help that students need to succeed in higher education, scholarships also enrich<br />
and grow the student body, help retain students, attract high performing students and create a diverse<br />
community. As part of the Mitchell-Moulton Scholarship Initiative, your gif to establish an endowed<br />
undergraduate scholarship will be matched dollar for dollar – doubling impact for deserving students.<br />
Akridge-DeVan Family<br />
Endowed Scholarship<br />
in Education<br />
Stephen Margavio<br />
Alane and Mark Hofman<br />
Special Education Certifcation<br />
Endowed Scholarship<br />
Madison Gewalt<br />
Alfred F. Delchamps Sr.<br />
Memorial Scholarship<br />
Katie Morgan<br />
Barbara Phillips Endowed<br />
Award for Special<br />
Education Teachers<br />
Timothy Tenorio<br />
Betty and Richard Wold<br />
Education Administration<br />
Endowed Scholarship<br />
Alani Rodgers<br />
Bobbie and Steve Hancock<br />
Endowed Scholarship in<br />
Interdisciplinary Studies<br />
Taylor Campbell<br />
Burette S. Tillinghast Jr.<br />
Graduate Scholarship in<br />
School Counseling<br />
Julia Martin<br />
Captain Allen U. Graham<br />
Memorial Scholarship<br />
Nichole Harting<br />
Captain George A.<br />
Manders Endowed Fund in<br />
Interdisciplinary Studies<br />
Joseph Kinney<br />
Carol and Jim Statter<br />
Endowed Scholarship for<br />
Literacy Education<br />
Kierra Tucker<br />
Charles and Virginia<br />
Thompson Endowed<br />
Scholarship in Hospitality<br />
Mallory Erickson<br />
College of Education<br />
Scholarship<br />
Robert Heckman<br />
Don Winterton<br />
Endowed Scholarship<br />
for Science Education<br />
Meredith Annan<br />
Dr. Chandru Hiremath<br />
Memorial Endowed Award<br />
in Instructional Design<br />
Development<br />
Allison Morrow<br />
Dr. Elizabeth F. Martin and Dr.<br />
Wilma M. Scrivner Scholarship<br />
Madison Gewalt<br />
Dr. Evelyn Kwan Green<br />
Endowed Scholarship in<br />
Hospitality and Tourism<br />
Moon Nguyen-Haas<br />
Dr. George E. Uhlig<br />
Endowed Award<br />
Jessica Hultquist<br />
Dr. Richard L. Hayes<br />
Endowed Scholarship in<br />
School Counseling<br />
Paityn Collier<br />
Dr. Vaughn Millner Endowed<br />
Scholarship in Counseling<br />
Savannah Rommel<br />
Ed Bunnell Adult Degree<br />
Program Scholarship<br />
Ashley Lawson<br />
Gaillard-Neville Reynolds<br />
Scholarship for PASSAGE USA<br />
Javon Wiggins<br />
Terri Penn<br />
Michelle Oranika<br />
Erreina Morehead<br />
Brandon Driver<br />
Alyse Delph<br />
Bryson Dinkins<br />
Alex McCurley<br />
Bryan Sanders<br />
Harold Bickel Memorial<br />
Scholarship in Education<br />
Morgan Everett<br />
Moon Nguyen-Haas<br />
Harvel A. Owens Endowed<br />
Scholarship In Education<br />
Selena Miller<br />
Helping Hands<br />
Development Award<br />
Lazoria Wright<br />
Hospitality Advisory<br />
Board Leadership<br />
Endowed Scholarship<br />
Camille Bonura<br />
J. Howe and Annie Bell<br />
Hadley Memorial Scholarship<br />
Katie Morgan<br />
Jeanne M. Sanderford<br />
Endowed Scholarship<br />
Lauren Staufer<br />
Jennifer Bankston<br />
Robert Heckman<br />
Jim and Liz Connors<br />
Hospitality Management<br />
Scholarship<br />
Karolina Holm<br />
John Hadley Strange<br />
Scholarship<br />
Chaz McGhee<br />
Josephine Wood Tillinghast<br />
Endowed Scholarship<br />
in Education<br />
Nealetha Holloway<br />
Joycelyn Franklin Finley<br />
Trailblazer Scholarship<br />
Elizabeth Eubanks<br />
Keasler/Spillers Scholarship<br />
Veronica Coleman<br />
63 PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
RSHIPS<br />
2021-<strong>2022</strong> College of Education and<br />
Professional Studies Scholarship Recipients<br />
Kent and Green Families<br />
Breaking Barriers in Education<br />
Endowed Scholarship<br />
Quentin Brown<br />
Lavonne Simon Endowed<br />
Book Award<br />
Mariah Nix<br />
Megan Redmond<br />
Lavord and Doris Crook<br />
Endowed Scholarship<br />
Sara Morgan<br />
Linda J. Reaves Endowment<br />
for Educators in Science<br />
and Mathematics<br />
Sarah Lawrey<br />
Lisa Mitchell Bukstein<br />
Developing Students<br />
Scholarship<br />
Mariah Nix<br />
Malcolm R. Howell Endowed<br />
Scholarship in Education<br />
Maresa Serra<br />
Mobile Area Lodging<br />
Association Scholarship<br />
Camille Bonura<br />
Emily Fogt<br />
Pamela Lynne Patterson<br />
Endowed Scholarship<br />
in Education<br />
Ashley Field<br />
Patricia Kelly Lofton Endowed<br />
Scholarship for Teachers<br />
Kierra Tucker<br />
Paula Lawkis-Bruton Memorial<br />
Endowed Scholarship<br />
Elizabeth Eubanks<br />
Pitts Family Scholarship<br />
in Education<br />
Patricia Massey<br />
PNC Bank Endowed<br />
Scholarship in Early<br />
Childhood Education<br />
Jessica Adair<br />
Ralph Jones Memorial<br />
Scholarship<br />
Lauren Staufer<br />
Robert Hopkins Memorial<br />
Endowed Scholarship<br />
in Education<br />
Mariah Nix<br />
Ronald A. Styron Sr. Memorial<br />
Endowed Scholarship<br />
Veronica Coleman<br />
Rotary Club of Mobile<br />
Scholarship<br />
Regan Grantham<br />
Ruth M. Gwinn-Heitman<br />
Endowed Scholarship<br />
Amiriam Watson<br />
Spectrum Resorts Scholarship<br />
Emily Fogt<br />
Student Leaders in Education<br />
Scholarship<br />
Olivia Rouse<br />
The Daniel Foundation of<br />
Alabama Endowed Scholarship<br />
for Teachers<br />
MaLaysia Marbury<br />
Milton Massey<br />
The Nancy Gaillard Love of<br />
Teaching Scholarship<br />
Brooke Holmes<br />
Thomas Corcoran Scholarship<br />
in Interdisciplinary Studies<br />
John Gillis<br />
Tifany K. Whitfeld Book<br />
Scholarship for Education<br />
Students<br />
Keri Williams<br />
Tom Wood Tillinghast<br />
Endowed Scholarship<br />
in Education<br />
Jessica Saville<br />
Travis M. Bedsole Jr. and<br />
Susan D. Bedsole Endowed<br />
Scholarship in Education<br />
Cameron Stewart<br />
Valerie R. Morgan Memorial<br />
Scholarship in Graduate<br />
Education<br />
Ragan Ferguson<br />
Valerie Wood Simmerman<br />
Scholarship in Education<br />
Lauren Staufer<br />
White-Spunner Endowed<br />
Scholarship in Education<br />
Samuel Richardson<br />
William Chamberlain<br />
Technology Teaching Award<br />
Chaz McGhee<br />
Williams Charitable<br />
Foundation Book Award<br />
Dana Bishop<br />
Wind Creek Hospitality<br />
Endowed Scholarship in<br />
Hospitality and Tourism<br />
Trinity Walker<br />
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA 64
Extra Yard<br />
for Teachers<br />
The University of South Alabama College of Education<br />
and Professional Studies and the South Alabama Athletics<br />
Department partnered with the College Football Playof<br />
Foundation to celebrate teachers in Mobile and Baldwin<br />
counties.<br />
“Extra Yard for Teachers Week allows us to bring recognition<br />
to our area teachers and to say ‘thank you’ for all they do<br />
daily to make an impact on their students and communities,”<br />
said Dr. John Kovaleski, interim dean of the College of<br />
Education and Professional Studies.<br />
The USA Classroom Project Contest provided teachers with<br />
an opportunity to win gift cards to make a direct impact on<br />
student learning. The college provided one $500 gift card<br />
and two $250 gift cards to the teachers who submitted the<br />
best project ideas for classroom enrichment. The foundation<br />
surprised South this year and gave an additional $100 and<br />
$1,000 DonorsChoose gift cards for the contest. More than<br />
130 educators submitted project proposals.<br />
The winners were honored Sept. 24, <strong>2022</strong>, at the Jaguars’<br />
38-14 football victory over Louisiana Tech football game at<br />
Hancock Whitney Stadium.<br />
Hunter Bates, the top individual winner of the Extra Yard for Teachers<br />
Classroom Project Contest, was surprised at Baldwin County High School<br />
with a special visit from the University of South Alabama. Dr. Paige Vitulli,<br />
a department chair from the USA College of Education and Professional<br />
Studies and NCAA faculty representative for South, presented $500 to<br />
Bates, who was surrounded by his students, South cheerleaders and the<br />
Miss Pawla mascot to celebrate the award.<br />
$1,000 WINNER:<br />
Barton Academy for Advanced World Studies, Mobile<br />
Nine entries from teachers<br />
Principal: Dr. Amanda Jones<br />
$500 WINNER:<br />
Hunter Bates, Baldwin County High School, Bay Minette<br />
Project name: The Pond Restoration Project<br />
$250 WINNERS:<br />
Melissa Motes, Barton Academy for Advanced World<br />
Studies<br />
Project name: From Agricultural Revolution to Deep<br />
Space Food<br />
Miranda Manley, Clark-Shaw Magnet School, Mobile<br />
Project name: Making History Come Alive through<br />
“Captured: An American Prisoner of War in North Vietnam”<br />
(Jeremiah Denton story)<br />
$100 WINNER:<br />
Kris Cieutat, Williamson High School, Mobile<br />
Project name: Jackets for Chefs<br />
65 PILLARS | FALL <strong>2022</strong>
@USAAlumni @USAAlumni @usa_alumni<br />
@University of South Alabama<br />
National Alumni Association<br />
Join the USA National Alumni Association and<br />
enjoy all the benefts of membership, including:<br />
• Access to online travel discounts that include<br />
Disney, Universal Studios and SeaWorld resorts<br />
• Cash back when you refnance student loans<br />
• Eligibility for Children of Alumni Scholarships<br />
• Eligibility to join USA Rec Center, USA Federal<br />
Credit Union and USA Marx Library<br />
• Year-round networking events<br />
Join Today!<br />
alumni.SouthAlabama.edu<br />
(251) 460–7084 | alumni@SouthAlabama.edu
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA<br />
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION<br />
AND PROFESSIONAL STUDIES<br />
University Commons 3360 | Mobile, AL 36688<br />
(251) 380-2889 | ceps@SouthAlabama.edu<br />
SouthAlabama.edu/CEPS<br />
We’re proud to be your hometown University and<br />
the Flagship of the Gulf Coast.<br />
SouthAlabama.edu